Editing Extraterrestrial intelligence

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{{Short description|Intelligent extraterrestrial life}}
{{Distinguish|Extraterrestrials in fiction}}
'''Extraterrestrial intelligence''' ('''ETI''') refers to hypothetical [[intelligence|intelligent]] [[extraterrestrial life]]. No such life has ever been verifiably observed to exist.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bennett |first=Jeffrey |title=Life in the universe |date=2017 |publisher=Pearson |isbn=978-0-13-408908-9 |location=United States |page=3-4}}</ref> The question of whether other inhabited worlds might exist has been debated since ancient times.<ref>Plurality of Worlds: The Extraterrestrial life Debate from Democritus to Kant, by Steven Dick, Cambridge University Press 1984</ref> The modern form of the concept emerged when the [[Copernican Revolution]] demonstrated that the Earth was a planet revolving around the Sun, and other planets were, conversely, other worlds.<ref>The Extraterrestrial Life Debate: 1750-1900, by Michael J. Crowe, Dover Publications, 2011</ref> The question of whether other inhabited planets or moons exist was a natural consequence of this new understanding. It has become one of the most speculative questions in science and is a central theme of science fiction and popular culture.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Spinks |first=Peter |date=May 21, 2013 |title=Are we alone? |url=http://www.smh.com.au/technology/sci-tech/are-we-alone-20130520-2jx69.html |url-access=subscription |work=[[SMH.com.au]]}}</ref>

An alternative name for it is "Extraterrestrial Technological Instantiations" (ETI). The term was coined to avoid the use of terms such as "civilizations" "species" and "intelligence", as those may prove to be ambiguous and open to interpretation, or simply inapplicable in its local context.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Keith Cooper |date=August 20, 2024 |title=Are we alone? Intelligent aliens may be rare, new study suggests |url=https://www.space.com/intelligent-alien-life-rare-drake-equation-research |access-date=September 9, 2024 |publisher=[[Space.com]]}}</ref>

==Intelligence==
Intelligence is, along with the more precise concept of [[sapience]], used to describe extraterrestrial life with similar [[Cognitive skill|cognitive abilities]] as humans. Another interchangeable term is ''[[wiktionary:sophont|sophoncy]]'', being [[wisdom|wise]] or wiser, first coined by Karen Anderson and published in the 1966 works by her husband [[Poul Anderson]].

[[Sentience]], like [[consciousness]], is a concept sometimes mistakenly used to refer to the concept of intelligence and sapience, since it does not exclude forms of life that are non-sapient (or more broadly non-intelligent or non-conscious).<ref name="x090">{{Cite journal |last=Yolles |first=Maurice |date=2022-12-13 |title=Consciousness, Sapience and Sentience—A Metacybernetic View |journal=Systems |volume=10 |issue=6 |page=254 |doi=10.3390/systems10060254 |issn=2079-8954 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

The term ''extraterrestrial civilization'' frames a more particular case of extraterrestrial intelligence. It is the possible long-term result of intelligent and specifically sapient extraterrestrial life.

==Probability==
The [[Copernican principle]] is generalized to the [[Theory of relativity|relativistic]] concept that humans are not privileged observers of the universe.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Peacock |first=John A. |url=https://archive.org/details/cosmologicalphys0000peac |title=Cosmological Physics |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |year=1998 |isbn=0-521-42270-1 |page=[https://archive.org/details/cosmologicalphys0000peac/page/66 66] |url-access=registration}}</ref>  Many prominent scientists, including [[Stephen Hawking]]<ref name="Auto2J-30">{{Cite news |last=Hickman |first=Leo |date=25 April 2010 |title=Stephen Hawking takes a hard line on aliens |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/apr/26/stephen-hawking-issues-warning-on-aliens |access-date=24 February 2012 |work=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref> have proposed that the sheer scale of the universe makes it improbable for intelligent life not to have emerged elsewhere.  However, [[Fermi's Paradox]] highlights the apparent contradiction between high estimates of the probability of the existence of extraterrestrial civilization and humanity's lack of contact with, or [[evidence]] for, such civilizations.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Krauthammer |first=Charles |date=December 29, 2011 |title=Are we alone in the universe? |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/are-we-alone-in-the-universe/2011/12/29/gIQA2wSOPP_story.html |access-date=January 6, 2015 |work=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref>

So far, there is no observation of extraterrestrial life, including intelligent extraterrestrial life.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kaufman |first=Marc |date=12 October 2022 |title=Life, Here and Beyond |url=https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/about/ |access-date=3 February 2023 |website=NASA Astrobiology |quote="No life beyond Earth has ever been found; there is no evidence that alien life has ever visited our planet. It’s all a story."}}</ref>

The [[Kardashev scale]] is a speculative method of measuring a [[civilization]]'s level of [[technology|technological]] advancement, based on the amount of [[energy]] a civilization is able to utilize.<ref>[[Nikolai Kardashev|Kardashev, Nikolai]]. "[http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-iarticle_query?1985IAUS..112..497K On the Inevitability and the Possible Structures of Supercivilizations]", The search for extraterrestrial life: Recent developments; Proceedings of the Symposium, Boston, MA, June 18–21, 1984 (A86-38126 17-88). Dordrecht, D. Reidel Publishing Co., 1985, p. 497–504.</ref>

The [[Drake equation]] is a [[probability theory|probabilistic]] framework used to estimate the number of active, communicative extraterrestrial civilizations in the [[Milky Way]] [[galaxy]].<ref name="Wende">{{Cite news |last=Zaun |first=Harald |date=1 November 2011 |title=Es war wie eine 180-Grad-Wende von diesem peinlichen Geheimnis! |trans-title=It was like a 180 degree turn from this embarrassing secret |url=http://www.heise.de/tp/artikel/35/35756/1.html |work=[[Telepolis]] |publisher=Heise |language=de}}</ref>

==Search for extraterrestrial intelligence==
{{Main|Search for extraterrestrial intelligence}}

There has been a search for signals from extraterrestrial intelligence for several decades, with no significant results.<ref name="Henbest">[https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21729072.000 "The search for ET is a detective story without a body"] by [[Nigel Henbest]], [[New Scientist]], March 9, 2013, p. 53.</ref> [[Active SETI]] (Active Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence) is the attempt to send messages to intelligent extraterrestrial life. Active SETI messages are usually sent in the form of radio signals. Physical messages like that of the [[Pioneer plaque]] may also be considered an active SETI message.

[[Communication with extraterrestrial intelligence]] (CETI) is a branch of the search for extraterrestrial intelligence that focuses on composing and deciphering messages that could theoretically be understood by another technological civilization. The best-known CETI experiment was the 1974 [[Arecibo message]] composed by [[Frank Drake]] and [[Carl Sagan]]. There are multiple independent organizations and individuals engaged in CETI research.

The [[U.S. government]]'s position, in line with that of most relevant experts, is that "chances of contact with an extraterrestrial intelligence are extremely small, given the distances involved."<ref name="WhiteHouse">{{Cite web |last=Larson |first=Phil |date=5 November 2011 |title=Searching for ET, But No Evidence Yet |url=https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petitions#!/response/searching-et-no-evidence-yet |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111124052154/https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/Petitions#!/response/searching-et-no-evidence-yet |archive-date=24 November 2011 |access-date=2011-11-06 |publisher=[[White House]]}}</ref><ref name="Atkinson">{{Cite web |last=Atkinson |first=Nancy |date=5 November 2011 |title=No Alien Visits or UFO Coverups, White House Says |url=http://www.universetoday.com/90717/no-alien-visits-or-ufo-coverups-white-house-says/ |access-date=2011-11-06 |publisher=[[UniverseToday]]}}</ref> This line of thinking has led some to conclude that first contact might be made with extraterrestrial artificial intelligence, rather than with biological beings.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hollingham |first=Richard |title=What if the aliens we are looking for are AI? |url=https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20160922-what-if-the-aliens-we-are-looking-for-are-ai |access-date=2020-11-24 |website=[[BBC.com]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Wall |first=Mike |date=14 November 2016 |title=Electronic E.T.: Intelligent Aliens Are Likely Machines |url=https://www.space.com/34713-intelligent-aliens-machines-seti-search.html |access-date=2020-11-24 |website=[[Space.com]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-01-01 |title="Alien Artificial Intelligence is Out There" --And It's Billions of Years Old |url=https://dailygalaxy.com/2019/01/alien-artificial-intelligence-is-out-there-and-its-billions-of-years-old-a-2018-most-viewed/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210123090352/https://dailygalaxy.com/2019/01/alien-artificial-intelligence-is-out-there-and-its-billions-of-years-old-a-2018-most-viewed/ |archive-date=2021-01-23 |access-date=2020-11-24 |website=The Daily Galaxy |language=en-US}}</ref>

The [[Wow! signal]] remains the best candidate for an extraterrestrial radio signal ever detected, though the fact that no similar signal has ever been observed again makes attribution of the signal to any cause difficult if not impossible.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Was the Wow! Signal Alien? |url=https://skeptoid.com/episodes/4342 |access-date=2019-02-06 |website=Skeptoid}}</ref>

On 14 June 2022 astronomers working with China's [[Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope|FAST telescope]] reported the possibility of having detected artificial (presumably alien) signals, but cautions that further studies are required to determine if some kind of natural radio interference may be the source.<ref name="ES-20220614">{{Cite news |last=Byrd |first=Deborah |date=4 June 2022 |title=Has China's FAST telescope detected alien intelligence? |url=https://earthsky.org/space/did-chinas-fast-telescope-detect-alien-intelligence/ |access-date=15 June 2022 |work=[[Earth & Sky]]}}</ref> On 18 June 2022 [[Dan Werthimer]], chief scientist for several [[SETI]]-related projects, reportedly noted that “These signals are from radio interference; they are due to radio pollution from earthlings, not from E.T.”<ref name="NYT-20220618">{{Cite news |last=Overbye |first=Dennis |date=18 June 2022 |title=A Chinese Telescope Did Not Find an Alien Signal. The Search Continues. China's astronomers have been initiated into the search for extraterrestrial intelligence with the kind of false alarm that others in the field have experienced for decades. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/18/science/china-alien-signal.html |access-date=19 June 2022 |work=[[The New York Times]] |authorlink=Dennis Overbye}}</ref>

== Potential cultural impact of extraterrestrial contact ==
{{Main|Potential cultural impact of extraterrestrial contact}}

The potential changes from extraterrestrial contact could vary greatly in magnitude and type, based on the extraterrestrial civilization's level of technological advancement, degree of benevolence or malevolence, and level of mutual comprehension between itself and humanity.<ref name="ptrsa-2010">{{Cite journal |last=Harrison |first=A. A. |date=2011 |title=Fear, pandemonium, equanimity and delight: Human responses to extra-terrestrial life |journal=Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences |volume=369 |issue=1936 |pages=656–668 |bibcode=2011RSPTA.369..656H |doi=10.1098/rsta.2010.0229 |pmid=21220289 |s2cid=39284787}}</ref> Some theories suggest that an extraterrestrial civilization could be advanced enough to dispense with biology, living instead inside of advanced computers.<ref name="ptrsa-2010" /> The medium through which humanity is contacted, be it electromagnetic radiation, direct physical interaction, extraterrestrial artefact, or otherwise, may also influence the results of contact. Incorporating these factors, various systems have been created to assess the implications of extraterrestrial contact.

The implications of extraterrestrial contact, particularly with a technologically superior civilization, have often been likened to the meeting of two vastly different human cultures on Earth, a historical precedent being the [[Columbian Exchange]]. Such meetings have generally led to the destruction of the civilization receiving contact (as opposed to the "contactor", which initiates contact), and therefore destruction of human civilization is a possible outcome.<ref name="daily-galaxy-1">{{Cite web |last=Kazan, Casey |date=1 August 2008 |title=The Impact of ET Contact: Europe's Scientists Discuss The Future of Humans in Space |url=http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2008/08/pandemics-from.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130515171248/http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2008/08/pandemics-from.html |archive-date=15 May 2013 |access-date=21 April 2012 |publisher=Daily Galaxy}}</ref> However, the absence of any such contact to date means such conjecture is largely speculative.<!--All lead material is supported by sources within the body of the main article.-->

==UFOlogy==
The [[extraterrestrial hypothesis]] is the idea that some [[UFO]]s are vehicles containing or sent by extraterrestrial beings (usually called ''[[extraterrestrial life|aliens]]'' in this context).<ref name=Henbest/> As an explanation for UFOs, ETI is sometimes contrasted with [[Interdimensional UFO hypothesis|EDI (extradimensional intelligence)]], for example by [[J. Allen Hynek]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Fuller |first=Curtis |title=Proceedings of the First International UFO Congress |publisher=[[Warner Books]] |year=1980 |location=New York |pages=157–163}}</ref> In 2023, House lawmakers held a [[David Grusch UFO whistleblower claims#2023 House Committee Oversight and Accountability hearing|hearing  to examine how the executive branch handles reports of UFOs]].

==In culture==
The theories and reception of the probability of intelligent life has been a recurring cultural element, particularly of popular culture since the prospect and achievement of [[spaceflight]].
[[New Mexico]] has even declared in 2003 the 14th of February as the ''Extraterrestrial Culture Day''.<ref name="y495">{{Cite web |date=2023-02-12 |title=Extraterrestrial Culture Day landed on Feb.14 |url=https://beacon.nwciowa.edu/extraterrestrial-culture-day-landed-on-feb-14/ |access-date=2024-07-11 |website=Beacon [[NWCIowa.edu]]}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Extraterrestrial life]]
** [[Rare Earth hypothesis]]
** [[Cosmic pluralism]]
** [[Fermi Paradox]]
* [[Extraterrestrials in fiction]]
** [[First contact (science fiction)]]
** [[Contact (1997 American film)|''Contact'' (1997 film)]]
*[[Life origination beyond planets]]
* [[Active SETI|Messaging to Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (METI or Active SETI)]]
* [[Quiet and loud aliens]]
* [[Sapience]]
* [[Sentiocentrism]]
* ''[[Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth]]'', 2021 popular science book by [[Avi Loeb]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/30/opinion/ufo-sightings-report.html An astrophysicist's view of UFOs] ([[Adam Frank]]; ''[[New York Times]]''; 30 May 2021) 

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[[Category:Extraterrestrial life]]
[[Category:Intelligence]]
[[Category:Biological hypotheses]]