Signal-Driven First Contact: Verification, Protocols, and the Global Implications

To the point

By 2063, real first contact would likely come from detecting a signal from an advanced, possibly cloaked civilization rather than a ship, with independent verification by multiple observatories and a UN briefing before any public announcement, and the content and distance of the message would shape humanity’s reaction—ranging from fear to excitement and potentially altering religion, ethics, and global politics—as noted by Michael Garrett of the Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, while Zefram Cochrane’s warp test hints at what might be possible.