No Global Framework for First Contact: SETI Protocols and a Century-Long Timeline

To the point

Experts Seth Shostak and Stephen Hawking say alien contact would most likely arrive as a distant radio signal rather than ships, that SETI has guidelines but no binding global plan or formal international framework, that coordinating a response would be impractical due to vast timescales, that Active SETI is risky, and that past near misses such as the 1997 false alarm show there is no ready plan and any contact would unfold over centuries rather than minutes.

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Science of Arrival: If Aliens Call, Does Humanity Have a Plan?

Experts say any contact would most likely begin with detecting a distant radio signal rather than ships, and while SETI post-detection protocols exist as guidelines for scientists and governments rather than a legally binding global framework, there is no evidence of a government plan to handle alien contact, a reality highlighted by Seth Shostak, with Stephen Hawking warning about Active SETI and past near-misses and media buzz underscoring that such interactions would unfold over centuries rather than minutes.