Organization conducting active SETI
METI International , known simply as METI , is a non-profit research organization founded in July 2015 by
Douglas Vakoch
[1] that creates and transmits interstellar messages to attempt to communicate with
extraterrestrial
civilizations .
[2]
[3]
[4]
[5]
[6]
[7]
[8] It is based in San Francisco, California.
[3]
[6]
Overview
METI targets nearby stars and researches the nature of the messages to send.
[1]
[9] On October 16, 17, and 18, 2017, it sent a message consisting of a scientific and mathematical tutorial to the
red dwarf
Luyten's Star , just over 12 light years from Earth.
[10]
[11]
[12] The message was sent from a radio transmitter at the
EISCAT research facility in
Tromsø , Norway.
[13] One of METI's missions is to examine people's views of transmitting interstellar messages.
[2]
METI's aim is to build an interdisciplinary community to design interstellar messages, within the context of the evolution of intelligence and language.
[14] In May 2016, it convened the meeting “The Intelligence Of SETI: Cognition And Communication In Extraterrestrial Intelligence” in Puerto Rico.
[2]
[5] In May 2018 in Los Angeles, it held “Language in the Cosmos” in conjunction with the
International Space Development Conference .
[14]
[15] to examine the connection between
astrobiology and
linguistics .
[9] On March 22, 2017, it held a workshop in Paris examining the question "What is life?" from an extraterrestrial perspective.
[16]
METI also conducts an optical
search of extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI).
[17]
[2] Its optical observatory in Panama looks for laser pulses from advanced civilizations. It has examined anomalous stars like the nearby red dwarf star
Ross 128 ,
[18] as well as
HD 164595 , 94 light years from Earth.
[17] None of the searches has yielded evidence of artificial signals.
[17]
[18]
Criticism
American scientist and science-fiction author
David Brin has questioned "whether small groups of zealots should bypass all institutions, peer critique, risk appraisal or public opinion, to shout ‘yoohoo’ into a potentially hazardous cosmos" and so force a fait accompli on humanity.
[19]
Numerous other authors and scientists have expressed similar concerns, generally known as the
Dark forest hypothesis of ETI, including
Stephen Hawking .
[20]
[21] Of particular interest in science fiction is
Cixin Liu 's
Remembrance of Earth's Past , exploring the theory and some of its implications.
[22]
[23]
Notable members
Notable members of METI's Board of Directors and Advisory Council include:
Iván Almár , Consultant,
Konkoly Observatory of the
Hungarian Academy of Sciences , Hungary
Setsuko Aoki , Professor of Policy Management,
Keio University , Japan
Jacques Arnould [
fr ] , Ethics Advisor,
Centre national d'études spatiales (CNES) , France
Jerome H. Barkow , Professor Emeritus of Social Anthropology,
Dalhousie University , Canada
Nelly Ben Hayoun , Designer of Experiences, Nelly Ben Hayoun Studios, UK
Lowry Burgess , Professor of Art,
Carnegie Mellon University , USA
Kerri Chandler , Founder of Madhouse Records, USA
Nathaniel C. Comfort , Professor of History of Medicine,
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine , USA
Paul Davies , Regents' Professor and Director of the Beyond Center,
Arizona State University , USA
Steven J. Dick , Former Chief Historian,
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), USA
David Dunér , Professor of History of Science and Ideas,
Lund University , Sweden
George Dvorsky , chair of the board,
Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies , Canada
José Gabriel Funes , Professor of Philosophy of Nature,
Catholic University of Córdoba , Argentina
Ellen Howell , Senior Research Astronomer,
Lunar and Planetary Laboratory ,
University of Arizona , USA
Chris Impey , Associate Dean, College of Science and Distinguished Professor of Astronomy,
University of Arizona , USA
Mary Lee Jensvold , Director of the
Chimpanzee and Human Communication Institute (
CHCI ),
Central Washington University , USA
James Kasting , Evan Pugh University Professor,
Pennsylvania State University , USA
Arik Kershenbaum , Fellow of
Girton College at the
University of Cambridge , and author of
The Zoologist's Guide to the Galaxy , UK
Guillermo A. Lemarchand [
es ] , Researcher and Science Policy Consultant,
UNESCO , Argentina
Jeffrey A. Lockwood , Professor of Natural Sciences and Humanities,
University of Wyoming , USA
Roger Malina , Arts and Technology Distinguished Chair and Professor of Physics,
University of Texas at Dallas , USA
Lori Marino , Founder and executive director, Kimmela Center for Animal Advocacy, Inc., USA
David Messerschmitt , Roger A. Strauch Professor Emeritus of Electrical Engineering & Computer Sciences,
University of California, Berkeley , USA
Anson Mount , Actor; known for his portrayal of fictional character, Cullen Bohannon, in the
AMC
western
drama series,
Hell on Wheels , and Captain
Christopher Pike in season two of
Star Trek: Discovery and
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds , USA
Elisabeth Oberzaucher [
de ] , Faculty of Life Sciences,
University of Vienna , Austria
Alexander Ollongren , Professor Emeritus at Leiden Institute of Advanced Computer Science (LIACS),
Leiden University , Netherlands
Serpil Oppermann , Past President, EASCLE (European Association for the Study of Literature, Culture, and the Environment), Turkey
Irene Pepperberg , Research Associate,
Harvard University , USA
Ted Peters , Research Professor Emeritus in Systematic Theology and Ethics,
Graduate Theological Union (GTU), USA
Stephen G. Post , Director, Center for Medical Humanities, Compassionate Care, and Bioethics,
Stony Brook University , USA
Ian Roberts , Professor of Linguistics,
University of Cambridge , UK
Holmes Rolston III , University Distinguished Professor and Professor of Philosophy, Emeritus,
Colorado State University , USA
Vandana Singh , Professor and Chair of Physics and Earth Sciences,
Framingham State University , USA
Susan Stryker , Associate Professor of Gender and Women's Studies and Director of the Institute for LGBT Studies,
University of Arizona , USA
John Traphagan , Professor of Religious Studies and Anthropology and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Fellow,
University of Texas at Austin , USA
Douglas Vakoch , President of METI, USA
Ariel Waldman , Global Director,
Science Hack Day , USA
See also
Active SETI — METI (Messaging to Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence)
Fermi paradox — Lack of evidence that extraterrestrials exist
SETIcon – Public conventions on the search for extraterrestrial intelligence
Zoo hypothesis — Hypothesis that suggests humanity is effectively caged on Earth
References
^
a
b Johnson, Steven (2017-06-23).
"Greetings, E.T. (Please Don't Murder Us.)" . The New York Times Magazine .
^
a
b
c
d Osborne, Hannah (2016-02-16).
"Meti president Douglas Vakoch: Sending messages to aliens is not dangerous and we could make contact by 2035" . International Business Times .
^
a
b Krieger, Lisa (2016-12-27).
"Tired of listening, scientists plan to send greetings out to other worlds" . The Sydney Morning Herald .
^ Meyer, Guido (2017-02-20).
"E.T. - hörst Du mich?" . SWR2 .
^
a
b Schulze-Makuch, Dirk (2016-06-03).
"Conversing with E.T." Air & Space Magazine .
^
a
b Robert, Sanders (2016-12-29).
"METI to Send Interstellar Messages in 2018" . Futurism .
^ Sabin, Dyani (2017-06-29).
"Researchers at METI are Trying New Technology to Contact Aliens" . Inverse .
^ Leary, Kyree (2017-09-17).
"Despite Opposition, METI Will Still Reach Out to Alien Life in 2018" . Futurism .
^
a
b Castelvecchi, Davide (2018-06-01).
"The researchers who study alien linguistics" . Nature .
doi :
10.1038/d41586-018-05310-x .
ISSN
0028-0836 .
S2CID
165649983 .
^
"How to send a message to another planet" . The Economist . 2017-11-16.
^ Schughart, Anna (2017-11-16).
"Hallo, GJ 273b! Außerirdische zu Hause?" . WIRED.DE .
^
"Qué contiene el último mensaje enviado al espacio en busca de vida alienígena" . BBC . 2017-11-20.
^ Patton, Paul (2018-06-05).
"Language in the Cosmos II: Hello There GJ273b" . Universe Today .
^
a
b Patton, Paul (2018-06-04).
"Language in the Cosmos I: Is Universal Grammar Really Universal?" . Universe Today .
^ Klesman, Alison (2018-05-29).
"What would an alien language sound like?" . Astronomy Magazine .
^ Rozieres, Gregory (2017-03-26).
"Des chercheurs se sont sérieusement posé la question de l'intelligence des extraterrestres" . Huffington Post (French edition) .
^
a
b
c Griffiths, James (2016-08-30).
"Hear me now? 'Strong signal' from sun-like star sparks alien speculation" . CNN .
^
a
b Wall, Mike (2017-07-18).
"Astronomers Detect Strange Signals from Red Dwarf Star" . Scientific American .
^ David Brin, G. (2018).
"The Great Silence: The Science and Philosophy of Fermi's Paradox" . American Journal of Physics . 86 (11): 878–879.
Bibcode :
2018AmJPh..86..878D .
doi :
10.1119/1.5053112 .
^
"Is Stephen Hawking right about aliens?" . the Guardian . 2010-04-30. Retrieved 2023-01-29 .
^
"Why these scientists fear contact with space aliens" . NBC News . Retrieved 2023-01-29 .
^ Alderson, Ella (2020-07-20).
"The Dark Forest Theory of the Universe" . Medium . Retrieved 2021-03-12 .
^
"Statement Regarding METI/Active SETI" . setiathome.berkeley.edu . Retrieved 2021-03-12 .
External links