Are Visitors from Outerspace Likely To Be Friendly?

[Mammo]

In the future, it is quite possible that highly advanced visitors from outerspace (HAVO's?) will arrive at our home planet, Earth. Do you think that they will be altruistic and benefit humanity or will they want to dominate humanity for their own needs? Or will they perhaps, only observe us from a distance and not want to make direct contact?

 

[Blenton]

I'd say it would depend on their level of technology. If theyre not too advanced but still have space travel, we might be a threat to them. However if they are millions of years ahead of us, we would pose no threat at all.

In either case though I would assume that they would be very curious to study the life on our planet (as we would to an alien world) unless again life is very common in the universe and we're the only species that hasn't caught on yet.

 

[physics girl phd]

I suspect that if they've advanced to the point where space travel is possible, then they'd have learned to dominate and take advantage of their environmental resources, quite likely to the detriment of other life on their planet (at least initially, showing perhaps some biological/chemical tendency towards aggression/domination). They have probably by that point however also learned that there needs to be some symbiotic balance to maintain these resources, but I suspect that too is done through manipulation. Therefore my vote this morning would be: "they want to dominate humanity for their own needs." I suspect that such "advanced visitors" would also first conduct observation, but later proceed to direct intervention.

 

[Mammo]

Good point made. But I was assuming that they would be much more highly advanced. I just thought about it a bit, and think that a planet close to developing super-technology could potentially be a future threat. I'm pretty sure that they would be advanced morally as well as by technology. Their home planet would surely be a great distance away. How much of a threat could we be?

 

[Blenton]

How much of a threat could we be?

Never doubt the ingenuity of the human race. Has Independence Day taught you nothing!

 

[Mammo]

I'd imagined that they would have transcended their version of humanity into 'super-beings' who have no need for material wants in the way we are familiar with.

 

[physics girl phd]

Marxian higher beings? "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need"?

 

[Mammo]

Marxian higher beings? "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need"?

They could be future Earth Guardians, protecting us from inbound dark comets and asteroids. Super-technology could solve humanity's energy requirements of the future.

 

[waht]

Humanity is proof enough that an intelligent life form in the universe can be the dominating type. We are such a species. Therefore if other intelligent life exists somewhere, then there should be no doubt they can be dominating as well. Because we know this trait works.

What we don't know is whether or not there can be intelligence life out there that is altruistic. We just haven't discovered any.

Perhaps here on earth. Dolphins are very intelligent. And yet they are not so much predatory as laid back.

So my hypothesis is that both models works. And so there should be aliens out there (if exist) that would enjoy destroying this Earth as much as humans enjoy going out on safari.

 

[DavidSnider]

I think they will be fat and wear fanny-packs and shorts to our finest restaurants and mispronounce all of our words. We will probably get impatient and they will go back to their planet and say "It's a lovely place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there."

 

[russ_watters]

Humanity is proof enough that an intelligent life form in the universe can be the dominating type. We are such a species. Therefore if other intelligent life exists somewhere, then there should be no doubt they can be dominating as well. Because we know this trait works.

Recent history would seem to provide a counterargument:

The development of weapons capable of destroying all human life on Earth (nuclear weapons) has caused the major powers of the world to stop going to war with each other. This suggests to me that if a species evolves to the point we are at now and survives, it must become at least semi-peaceful. Otherwise, it wouldn't survive the discovery of nuclear weapons.

Similarly, the Earth is becoming saturated with people, yet we are nowhere near the ability to leave permanently. As a result, if we are to survive and prosper past this century, we will need to be able to come into an equilibrium with our environment.

 

[rootX]

They can be "altruistic and benefit humanity" "for their own needs".

It depends what are their needs/goals/motives and what kind of threats they are facing.

Do you think that they will be altruistic and benefit humanity or will they want to dominate humanity for their own needs?

I don't see why they shouldn't/wouldn't consider their needs first.

 

[OAQfirst]

How would another species interpret ours? Would they focus on any particular level (individual up to national governmental)? It's hard to know how they would interpret our current wars or local crimes without knowing how they react to their own experiences. Us merely possessing nuclear weapons might be a tad too much to them.

I would expect contact to involve a broad disclosure focusing on our sciences and arts as an attempt to find a middle ground. Tolerance of each others' differences will be paramount to maintaining a successful interspecies' relationship. Great intolerance is still expressed on all levels in many parts of our societies. This could be a useful gauge for approximating a comfort level for possible relations.

 

[Mammo]

What we don't know is whether or not there can be intelligence life out there that is altruistic. We just haven't discovered any. Perhaps here on earth. Dolphins are very intelligent. And yet they are not so much predatory as laid back.

Interesting comment about dolphins. I saw a TV documentary where a group of dolphins showed altruism towards humans by protecting swimmers off the coast of South Africa from the advances of a great white. (Most of the dolphins had shark bite wounds, which showed that this was a group learned ability. I was even envious of their dolphin bravery).

They can be "altruistic and benefit humanity" "for their own needs".
It depends what are their needs/goals/motives and what kind of threats they are facing.
I don't see why they shouldn't/wouldn't consider their needs first.

Would this be such a bad thing? If they wanted to build more spaceships for example, this could still benefit humanity as well. If there was a dark comet heading for Earth and they had the ability to save us, surely this would be a better outcome than natural annihilation?

 

[cristo]

I think they will be fat and wear fanny-packs and shorts to our finest restaurants and mispronounce all of our words.

Haha.. one can only hope!

 

[Mammo]

Another interesting perspective is whether we would be the first planet of advanced intelligent life that they have met. Perhaps they would be prone to making errors of judgement, having nothing to gauge the influence they would have on a new planet. Would they intervene in the event of the outbreak of a nuclear war? If so, would they do this covertly or openly?

 

[nottheone]

Just ask yourself what we would be like. And if you think we would be good and nice you don't know your history.

 

[Red Rum]

I have no doubt they will be both intelligent and altruistic and will probably find us very tasty and nutritious

 

[Office_Shredder]

Considering the vast quantities of anti-alien propaganda the media has distributed, they would have to assume we already view them as enemies

 

[Mammo]

Considering the vast quantities of anti-alien propaganda the media has distributed, they would have to assume we already view them as enemies

I couldn't agree more. Steven Spielberg made an intelligent start with 'close encounters' but it's gone down hill ever since.

 

[Loren Booda]

Its not what visitors from outer space will be, it's how we will react to them that's more certain. Look at human history.

 

[Raizy]

What if they are 5-D, and that their motives are beyond human comprehension?

 

[turbo]

I think it's a big mistake to equate advanced technology with advanced beings. We humans have developed some amazing technology, especially in the last 100 years or so, but as a species we have not developed any additional capabilities for empathy, generosity, cooperation, etc. In fact, it seems to me that people who are living in primitive societies and/or what most of us would consider poverty value those qualities more than the wealthy and powerful. Why should we expect aliens to be any different?

If their culture causes them to value the rights and lives of all creatures (including us) and they were coming here merely for the sake of exploration, that would be a good thing, but if their forays here were driven by expansionism and a search for resources, it might not be pretty.