rhinoceros
Archon
Gender: 
Posts: 1318
Reputation: 8.27
Rate rhinoceros
My point is ...
  
|
 |
How to tell aliens about morality
« on: 2003-03-27 08:07:57 » |
 |
How to tell aliens about morality
<quote>"The intention is to convey our humanity, not our nobility."
<quote>"Any sequence of symbols is so constrained by culture as to be impenetrable "
--------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.nature.com/nsu/030317/030317-11.html
SETI workshops selfless message
Artists and scientists discuss how to tell ET about morality.
John Whitfield, 21 March 2003
Twenty scientists, artists and philosophers will gather in Paris on Sunday and Monday to discuss how best to tell extraterrestrials about altruism.
This is the second in a series of workshops on communicating what it means to be human to alien civilizations. Last year's meeting debated ways of conveying human notions of aesthetic beauty.
Altruism is next up because it is a concept that cuts across cultures. It can also be expressed through mathematics that might be general enough for other beings to understand.
The intention is to convey our humanity, not our nobility, explains workshop chair, psychologist Douglas Vakoch of the SETI Institute in Mountain View, California.
"Previous attempts at communication, such as on the Voyager space probe, presented the positive side of human beings," he argues. "There's been no poverty, or war, or the nuclear mushroom cloud. We're trying to start a tough dialogue about how we describe the breadth of human experience."
Any message, says Vakoch, should take into account studies of animal and human behaviour showing that apparent self-sacrifice often serves selfish ends. Good deeds are often done in aid of relatives, in expectation of a future favour, or to gain the benefits of a good reputation.
The workshop will also tackle the form of the message. An image, rather than a stream of data, would be best, argues computer scientist William Edmondson of the University of Birmingham, UK. "We're talking about postcards - any sequence of symbols is so constrained by culture as to be impenetrable."
Another option is to send a message that the receiver can interact with. For example, we could broadcast a computer program that played the prisoner's dilemma game, in which the temptation to cheat threatens the benefits of cooperating.
But the SETI Institute has no plans to actually send a message. "The question of whether we should transmit at all, and what we should say requires so much work that it's premature at this point," says Vakoch.
------------------------------------------------------------------
[rhinoceros]
From an older article, which is even more interesting:
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/2938500.htm
For Vakoch, all the theorizing serves another useful purpose.
"The truth is we don't know if there is alien life out there, but in thinking about how we would communicate something about our sense of beauty or who we are, we are forced to reflect differently on ourselves and question our basic assumptions,'' he says.
|
Author
Logged
