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SUNDAY SCIENCE: ALIEN FIRST CONTACT: HOW THE NEW RULES DIFFER FROM
SCIENCE FICTION  
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Michael Garrett
June 8, 2026
The Conversation
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_ The moment of first contact with extraterrestrials is a staple of
scifi. The discovery of extraterrestrial intelligence is more likely
to emerge as a faint anomaly in astronomical data, followed by
painstaking process of verification and peer review. _

Lovell Telescope, a fully steerable radio telescope at Jodrell Bank,
Macclesfield, Cheshire, England., Jodrell Bank Science Centre

 

The moment of first contact with extraterrestrials is a staple of
science fiction. It usually involves a frantic scientist having a
Eureka moment, realising in a single dramatic instant that Earth is
being visited by creatures from light-years away.

Aliens are in the public consciousness once again thanks to Steven
Spielberg’s
[[link removed]] latest
film, Disclosure Day [[link removed]], which
follows a whistleblower’s attempts to reveal extraterrestrial
visitations to the world.

In reality, the discovery of extraterrestrial intelligence is far more
likely to emerge as a faint anomaly in astronomical data, followed by
a slow, painstaking process of verification, peer review and intense
international deliberation. There might be no single Eureka moment,
and no lone scientist with the answer.

As our telescopes have advanced, so too has the complexity of the
world we live in. That is why a committee of the International Academy
of Astronautics (IAA) has just voted to accept a major overhaul of the
“post-detection protocols”
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– the scientific code of conduct for what happens after we find
evidence of life beyond Earth.

The IAA body that has approved the changes is the Search for
Extraterrestrial Intelligence (Seti) Committee
[[link removed]]. Seti is the
collective term for scientific projects dedicated to searching for
signs of intelligent alien life in the universe.

The previous version of these principles was adopted way back in 2010.
To put that in perspective, in 2010, the “fake news” era hadn’t
quite arrived, social media was in its infancy, and the broader idea
of “technosignatures”, looking for signs of alien technology such
as waste heat from giant structures in space, was still largely on the
fringes of mainstream astronomy.

Today, the field has exploded. We are no longer just listening out for
artificial radio signals from a few select stars. Projects like
Breakthrough Listen [[link removed]]
have globalised the search, and we now observe the entire
electromagnetic spectrum for any sign of advanced technology.

Furthermore, the information landscape has become a minefield. In an
era of deepfakes and instant global connectivity, a single unverified
claim could trigger global panic or widespread misinformation before
scientists have even had a chance to check their data.

At the heart of the 2026 update is a commitment to scientific rigour.
The new protocols make it clear: we do not shout “alien” the
moment we see a strange blip in our data. If a researcher detects a
candidate signal, which could be an artificial radio signal, or
something else, such as a sign of alien technology, the first step
isn’t a post on social media; it’s a quiet, rigorous attempt to
prove themselves wrong. The discovery must be independently
authenticated by multiple organisations using different instruments.

Only when a consensus is reached that the signal is truly credible is
it brought to the world. This isn’t about secrecy for secrecy’s
sake. There is no obligation to disclose verification efforts while
they are ongoing, precisely to avoid embarrassing and damaging false
alarms.

However, once a discovery is confirmed, the protocols demand full
transparency. The data, the analysis methods, and the code used must
be made open to the entire global scientific community and, indeed,
the general public for replication.

Should we talk back?

One significant addition to the 2026 declaration is the focus on
researcher safety. We’ve seen in recent years how scientists at the
centre of high profile news stories can become targets for harassment
or “doxxing”, where malicious individuals post the scientist’s
personal details online. The new guidelines urge institutions to
protect their researchers from negative professional repercussions and
physical or digital harassment.

The protocols also address the “trash” of our own making: radio
frequency interference (RFI)
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radio frequency bands that Seti scientists use to listen for E.T. are
increasingly polluted – from below by mobile networks, radar and
poorly shielded electronics, and from above by the growth of satellite
“mega-constellations” like Starlink.

The declaration calls for extraordinary international efforts to
protect the frequencies where a signal is detected, ensuring our
“communication channel” isn’t drowned out by our own technology.

Scientists could detect advanced technology built by alien
civilisations, such as large devices designed to harvest energy from
stars. Droneandy
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The most controversial part of Seti isn’t the searching; it’s the
messaging. Known as Meti (Messaging Extraterrestrial Intelligence
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intentionally sending signals to other worlds splits the community. As
enshrined in the earlier declarations, the 2026 Declaration remains
firm on one point: no response should be sent until there has been a
broad, international consultation.

Deciding how to represent Earth to an alien civilisation is a choice
that belongs to all of humanity, not a single institution or
individual. These consultations must take place through the United
Nations or other broadly representative global bodies.

The discovery of intelligent life beyond Earth would stand as one of
the most transformative events in human history. To help manage the
profound aftermath, the IAA SETI Committee is establishing a permanent
Post-Detection Sub-Committee.

This body will not simply be a room full of astronomers; it will
include international experts in ethics, law, social sciences and
communications to advise on the complex, long term societal
implications of contact.

The new protocols themselves are designed to be living documents,
supplemented by a separate Code of Conduct and Best Practices
Guidelines that will be periodically reexamined and updated to reflect
the “best practice” of the day.

The revised declaration has recently been formally adopted by the IAA
Board of Trustees
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over the rest of the year it will be filed with other appropriate
organisations for their endorsement.

The next goal will be to present the finished framework to the wider
scientific community at the International Astronautical Congress
[[link removed]] in Turkey in August 2026. Beyond that, the
Committee hope that the new protocols will also be reviewed and noted
by the UN.

By establishing these rigorous rules now, we ensure that if, or when,
that signal finally arrives, the world is prepared to listen, verify,
and respond as one planet.[The Conversation]

Michael Garrett
[[link removed]], Sir
Bernard Lovell chair of Astrophysics, _University of Manchester_
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This article is republished from The Conversation
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the original article
[[link removed]].

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SUSTAINABILITY OR DYSTOPIA? 
[[link removed]]DAVID ARMSTRONG
MCKAYNATUREWhat past patterns tell us about where society is heading.
A new book applies principles of environmental tipping points to past
societal transformations — and attempts to draw lessons about what
the future holds today.June 8, 2026

* Science
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* astronomy
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* astrophysics
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* Extraterrestrial intelligence
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* telescopes
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* verification
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* peer review
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* international deliberation
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* deep fakes
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* Seti
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* Meti
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* United Nations
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