Alien Contact Will Be Controlled by Religion - According the SETI

The search for extraterrestrial intelligence operates under a veil of secrecy that most people never realize exists. According to Dr. Jill Tarter, co-founder of SETI, scientists have strict protocols that require them to keep potential alien discoveries hidden from the public while they verify their findings. This revelation came during a recent Star Talk interview with Neil deGrasse Tyson, where Tarter disclosed details about how the scientific community handles what could be humanity’s most important discovery.

Dr. Tarter’s most striking analogy puts the scope of our alien search into perspective. As referenced in the Star Talk interview, she calculated that after 50 years of SETI operations, “all the searching we’d done to date was as if we said, oh, we’re going to look for fish in the ocean. And what we did was take one eight-ounce glass and dip it in the ocean and take a look and say, oh, are there fish in there?” This comparison reveals how infinitesimally small our search efforts have been compared to the vastness of space we need to explore.

Despite this limited search scope, SETI operates under formal rules established in 1989 that dictate exactly how potential alien contact should be handled. According to the International Institute of Space Law protocol referenced by Dr. Tarter, scientists must verify any potential extraterrestrial signal using at least two different radio telescopes in different global locations before making any public announcement. The primary directive, as Tarter explained, is to “make sure you got it right” and ensure “that whatever you’re going to announce is not some flaw in your detection system.”

This verification protocol proved crucial during the 2019 BLC-1 incident, when scientists detected what appeared to be an artificial signal from the direction of Proxima Centauri, our nearest stellar neighbor. The signal, officially designated “Breakthrough Listen Candidate 1,” exhibited characteristics that seemed consistent with extraterrestrial technology. According to the detection data, the signal was extremely narrow-band at 982.002 MHz, appearing across multiple observations over several months. Natural cosmic sources typically broadcast across many frequencies simultaneously, making this focused transmission particularly intriguing to researchers.

SETI

The secretive nature of SETI’s operations becomes apparent when examining how information flows to the public. According to Dr. Tarter’s statements on Star Talk, when asked about confidence in appropriate public response to alien contact, she admitted uncertainty, stating “I don’t know, Neil” and expressing concern about political reactions. Her promise that “you’ll know what I know” regarding alien discoveries appears contradicted by the formal protocols requiring extensive verification periods before public disclosure.

Perhaps most controversially, Dr. Tarter suggested that ethics regarding alien contact would be determined by “religious entities across the planet” rather than scientific consensus. This statement raises questions about who should have authority over humanity’s response to extraterrestrial contact and whether religious institutions should influence scientific discoveries. The comment seems inconsistent with SETI’s scientific mission and suggests potential conflicts between religious doctrine and empirical evidence.

The verification process serves dual purposes according to SETI protocols: preventing false alarms that could damage scientific credibility, and avoiding premature communication attempts with potentially unknown alien civilizations. Current rules referenced in the International Academy of Astronautics guidelines state that scientists should announce discoveries only after confirmation and refrain from attempting communication until world governments can coordinate appropriate responses.

This systematic approach to secrecy means the public may remain unaware of ongoing alien signal investigations for years or decades. The BLC-1 case demonstrates how potential extraterrestrial contact can be detected, analyzed, and ultimately dismissed without public knowledge during the verification phase. While the scientific community eventually determined BLC-1 was terrestrial interference, the incident reveals how close humanity might come to confirmed alien contact while remaining completely unaware.

Dr. Jill Tarter

Sources

Shuch, H. P., PhD. (n.d.). SETI Verification Protocols. Entire Web Site Copyright © by the SETI League, Inc. All Rights Reserved. SETI League, Dr. SETI and the SETI League Logo Are Service Marks of the SETI League, Inc. Registered in the United States and Other Countries. https://www.setileague.org/general/protocol.htm

Skibba, R. (2021, October 27). A strange radio signal was just from Earth, not aliens. WIRED. https://www.wired.com/story/a-strange-radio-signal-was-just-from-earth-not-aliens

StarTalk. (2025, August 26). The Search for Aliens with SETI Co-Founder, Jill Tarter [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2z685OhYCU

The SETI Post-Detection Policy: What if we find something? (2025, August 25). New Space Economy. https://newspaceeconomy.ca/2025/08/25/the-seti-post-detection-policy-what-if-we-find-something