Scientists Are Concerned That Humans May Send Aliens Malware
Christopher Files / 9 years ago
Space exploration is quite frankly both awe-inspiring and also necessary to the understanding of possible life within the vastness of planets and also galaxies. If you thought our tech could in no way harm these efforts then think again, as scientists at the elitist university of Oxford have warned humans that we in fact could send Mr E.T a Trojan Horse.
Speaking at the British Science Festival Dr Anders Sandberg, of the Future of Humanity Institute at Oxford University, said humans must be extremely cautious about what digital messages they send into space. Dr Sandberg conveyed the security problems which include languages that can hide a lot of information by stating that “We’re worried about malware being sent to aliens”.
Scientists are not usually known for their sense of humour, but Dr Sandberg also quipped that “Some people think we’re already spamming the universe with reality soaps.” This is oh so very true considering the degradation of quality over the last decade or so, which has now seen the destruction reach quite epic proportions with a new show on Channel 4 entitled “The Changing Room” Yes it’s as brain numbing as it sounds considering the premise is watching people change in shop fitting rooms.
Anyway, enough of that tangent, the possibility of communicating with a different species is mind-boggling, but if you had the chance to send a message, virus scanned of course, what would it be? The UK research network for SETI (UKSRN) has envisaged this possibility and has therefore joined forces with the Breakthrough Message Initiative with the aim of inviting the public to have their say on the message to send into space. This intergalactic notion of democracy also has a prize on offer of $1 million dollars for the best ideas.
I believe there are life forms which are different to our own considering the vastness of the universe; it would be foolish to believe that we are the only ones in all of time and space. The question has always remained concerning the outcomes that could happen if we do indeed find extra terrestrial life; will it be a friendly engagement or Independence Day all over again.
Transmitting viruses to aliens at this stage is extremely theoretical, but who knows how different life forms would react to binary numbers and data.
Thank you the telegraph for providing us with this information.
Image courtesy of mashable
