Abstract
This chapter discusses the likelihood of an alien race concocting and transmitting a computer virus to Earth, and explores the possibility of determining the intent of an extraterrestrial signal using the Prisoner’s Dilemma as a framework. The fundamental question we must ask ourselves is this: How do we know whether the beings sending us the signal are friendly or hostile? Other questions follow from this premise: Is the signal meant as a greeting? A lure? A Trojan horse? Is the signal itself intended to disrupt our technology or society? Are any of these consequences possible despite the intent of the sender? Through an exploration of the costs and benefits of altruism, the author will attempt to answer these and other questions. The act of signaling will be explored separately from the content of the signal itself, and the impact of intent on each will be addressed.
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Notes
- 1.
In this chapter, we will be discussing the reception and interpretation of a signal from an intelligent alien civilization. In so doing, we have already assumed that such a civilization exists and is at least as technologically advanced as our own. It is not therefore unreasonable to also assume, for purposes of this chapter, that other such civilizations exist, and that those civilizations may be far in advance of our level of technology. We will, however, impose a few limits to our assumptions: the speed of light is still inviolate, time travel does not exist, and wormholes may not be used for travel.
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Langston, M.C. (2014). The Accidental Altruist: Inferring Altruism from an Extraterrestrial Signal. In: Vakoch, D. (eds) Extraterrestrial Altruism. The Frontiers Collection. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-37750-1_9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-37750-1_9
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