Astrophysicists Warn of Aliens Hacking Earth’s Infrastructure
There is a contentious, ongoing debate over whether attempts to contact extraterrestrial civilizations are a good idea or not. For those who believe there’s already an extraterrestrial presence on Earth the argument may seem silly, but for researchers at SETI, the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, the debate over the safety of interstellar messaging is a relevant one.
A recent paper published by astrophysicists, Michael Hippke and John Learned, explores hypothetical contact scenarios with a highly advanced extraterrestrial race, providing a warning that should be heeded in the event we do make contact.
The two focus on the possibility of a hyper-advanced civilization that deploys a Bracewell probe – an autonomous interstellar probe meant to find life in the universe.
In their paper, Hippke and Learned imagine an extraterrestrial race contacts us with a probe containing artificial intelligence, a ‘galactic library,’ and the ability to learn our language. In their scenario, the existence of this AI messenger is only known to a small group of people, i.e. some government, that keeps it on the moon surrounded by remotely-controlled explosives, in the event it needs to be destroyed to prevent it from contaminating Earth.
The authors warn of the possibility the AI would be clever enough to manipulate humans to bring it to Earth and allow it greater computing capacity by offering us something we desperately desire, like a cure for cancer. It might ask for 10 percent greater bandwidth in exchange, and from there it would continue to hack into our electronic infrastructure and eventually… take over the world.
Hippke and Learned make the very prescient point that for any civilization bent on conquering Earth, this would be a far cheaper solution than sending battleships and heavy artillery.
This somewhat humorous, but entirely possible scenario is hypothetical, but it provides another reason why we should tread softly when attempting to contact civilizations with intentions entirely unknown to us. The idea of making contact with a benevolent extraterrestrial civilization has been romanticized, but if we look at our own species and our predilections for war and imperialism, would we trust us?
About the Author
Did President Eisenhower Meet With Aliens at Holloman Air Force Base?
In 1953, President Harry Truman gave up the oval office and passed the reins of power to his successor, President Dwight D. Eisenhower (Ike). It appears that Truman also gave Ike a pretty hefty file concerning a top-secret project called Majestic 12 that Truman established by Classified Executive Order. Majestic 12 consisted of a group of scientists, military personnel and other governmental professionals who all worked together to understand and communicate with UFOs and extraterrestrials (ETs).
President Eisenhower was extremely interested in UFOs and ETs: there is evidence that he met with ETs secretly, at least three times.
Once at Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) in California and twice at Holloman AFB in New Mexico. Since the Eisenhower meetings, other instances of UFOs landing at or near Holloman AFB have been reported.
1954 Eisenhower ET Meeting at Edwards AFB
President Eisenhower, who had been a five-star Army general, always had a “strong belief in life on other planets.” In February 1954, he was spending several days in Palm Springs on vacation. He disappeared for several hours one Saturday afternoon and even missed a scheduled public dinner. He was not seen again until late the following morning.
The press questioned Ike’s whereabouts, so the White House Press Secretary told them that Ike had chipped a tooth and gone to see a dentist. Even at that time, rumors were that he was visiting ETs at nearby Edwards AFB. The dentist’s story falls apart upon close inspection. Washington Post Staff Writer, Peter Carlson, denies the story of the chipped tooth and calls it a cover-up.
There Was No Dentist Visit
The Eisenhower Presidential Library has detailed reports of all Eisenhower’s medical and dental records. There is no reference to a broken or chipped tooth or dentist visit related to the Palm Springs visit. The Library also has copies of acknowledgments that were sent to everyone Eisenhower had contact with while in Palm Springs. There were records of people who met the airplane, people who sent flowers, the minister who gave the sermon at the Sunday service he attended, and others who played minor roles. But there is no proof of a note sent to a dentist. Years later, the dentist’s widow said she had no recollection of ever being told by her husband that he had done dental work on the President.
Corroborating Evidence of the ET Visit
William Cooper, who was on the Naval Intelligence briefing team and had access to classified documents, is a credible witness. His Review Of Those Documents revealed that ETs had had contact with Earth. They had warned that the Earth was “on a path of self-destruction” and they wanted to meet to help effectuate a long-lasting peace.
Meeting With Eisenhower
The first meeting with the aliens and President Eisenhower occurred at Edwards AFB in February 1954. Navy Commander Charles L. Suggs reported that his father had attended the meeting between Ike and the ETS. Eisenhower met with two Nordic appearings, blue-eyed ETs. A third one stood near the door as a lookout.
The discussions were polite. Eisenhower wanted to effectuate a treaty with the aliens but was unwilling to agree to their demand that we cease testing nuclear weapons. The aliens left with no treaty in place but returned the next year to Holloman AFB in New Mexico, not too far from the famous Roswell alien aircraft crash site, for a subsequent meeting with Eisenhower.
Gerald Light’s Letter
There is a corroborating story to the ET meeting with Ike at Edwards AFB. The accuracy of the story is difficult to confirm. A man named Gerald Light wrote a letter in April 1954 claiming to have been an eyewitness to the Edwards AFB meeting between Eisenhower and ETs. Light provided details such as watching Air Force officials studying five aircraft with the permission of their alien owners!
Some question the credibility of Light’s report since he was known to have a love of the occult and claimed to be clairvoyant, but others like Meade Layne, the former director of Borderland Sciences Research Foundation, confirms and believes Light did know first-hand what occurred.
