Scientists have searched the skies for alien intelligence for years and found nothing. However, many believe the odds of success are increasing rapidly, so if 2025 turns out to be the year we make our first contact with extraterrestrial intelligence, how will humans react?

“I bet everyone a cup of Starbucks that it would happen, so of course I believe the odds are good,” said Seth Shostak, a speaker, author and principal astronomer at the Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Institute.

Born in 1943, Shostak observed scientific efforts to find extraterrestrial intelligence from a young age growing up in New York. He explained why he is now more optimistic than ever.

“This is primarily based on the relentless advancement of technology. Every two years, more or less, the speed at which we look for a signal doubles, so I suspect that such a discovery is imminent.”

Finding extraterrestrial intelligence would be comparable to the Europeans discovering the New World and its native inhabitants in the late 15th century, says Shostak, but it’s even more important.

“This will be an inflection point for humanity, and I suspect that future history will divide the human experience into a time before and after the discovery of other beings.

How would people react if an alien was found?

Shostak rejects the idea that people are panicking because most Americans believe aliens exist.

Rather, he says that many people would be intrigued and try to reach out to aliens.

“You can be sure that everyone in the world who has the ability to broadcast a response will try, right.

“You know, just talk to us, stuff like that. And I’m sure that would happen. And honestly, I don’t see anything wrong with that. That’s what people do.”

There will be some, says Shostak, who will not want to respond to an alien signal at all, people who think it would be like shouting in the jungle.

“You don’t know what the ramifications could be. And keep in mind that any company that could actually hear anything we said, could actually pick up the signal, would be more technologically advanced than us, willy-nilly.”

“So you know, maybe it’s not a good idea to let them know we’re here now.
“They [aliens] he might decide that, well, okay, there’s a world out there that clearly has the raw materials for a tech company, so let’s take it.

“Maybe they won’t just welcome us with open arms and offer us some appetizers or whatever.

The instinct to lie would be unnecessary in any case, says Shostak, because we advertise our existence in space 24 hours a day, 7 days a week through our television, radio and radar stations.

Then there will be optimists, he says, who will see the arrival of ET as an opportunity.

“Maybe they could tell us all sorts of useful things that we’ll otherwise spend the next few centuries figuring out.”

Many other people might react by trying to figure out what the alien signal is about. Everyone, says Šostak, can play a role in this.

“If we get a message from them that we don’t understand, it could have all sorts of consequences.

“The next thing that should happen, in my opinion, would be to put anything, any modulation, any message on that signal, just put it on the Internet and let people try to figure it out.

“It’s like deciphering hieroglyphs and the 1830s – let lots of people try.”

How would this affect religion?

Shostak says there could be a deep religious reaction from people because the arrival of an alien can lead people to question their beliefs.

“Well, what happened in the 18th century when Europeans started landing on these islands in the Pacific? And all the ones that were inhabited had religious beliefs.”

“What an effect it had when the Europeans showed up on these big wooden sailing ships that these guys didn’t have, and it almost wiped out most of their religion.

“Because the attitude was that these guys can sail across the ocean to get to us. Whatever religion they follow has more mojo, if you will, than our religion. So they’ve crossed over in most cases.”

What if microbial life was found on Mars?

Given the presence of rovers on Mars, it is possible that microbial life will be found there in the coming years. While not as dramatic as a signal from extraterrestrial intelligence, Shostak says of this potential discovery; “I wouldn’t sell it short.

“I wouldn’t underestimate the impact, because if we found even just microbes on Mars or even dead microbes on Mars, that would say that life is not a miracle, right?”

“Life can emerge anywhere that their conditions are reasonably healthy. And I think that will affect a certain part of the population in a fairly dramatic way because there are a lot of people out there who think that Earth is very special because we ‘have life.’

“If we found out that biology also started on Mars, it would re-emphasise the fact that we’re not particularly special, something our mums never told us and it would probably worry a lot of people.”

What about UFOs, UAPs and drones?

Regarding UFO and recent drone sightings in the northeastern US, Shostak says that while more than half of the American public thinks that at least some of the unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs) are alien craft, he doesn’t believe it.

“Are drones flying over New Jersey because aliens are interested in New Jersey culture?”

Shostak thinks that if we find a signal from an extraterrestrial intelligence, it may not come from a life form at all.

“Personally – if we do pick up a signal – I don’t expect it to be the result of some biological being transmitting something into space.

“From my point of view, biological intelligence is only a weight for the development of synthetic intelligence – thinking machines.

“I think our descendants living in the next century will find it strange that we still thought that extraterrestrial intelligence would be housed in a living being.”