Interstellar Diplomacy

Abstract: The Defense Department and NASA are investigating the possibility that aliens are currently surveilling Earth. This aligns with some search-for-extraterrestrial-intelligence (SETI) theorists who have concluded that ET's best strategy for opening a channel of communication is to send artificially intelligent probes to our Solar System for that purpose. This is a golden age for traditional SETI, which is currently well funded, with most of the world's radio telescopes now engaged in the hunt. One way or another, contact with aliens may be imminent. There has been no planning among nations for the aftermath of a first detection. This paper advocates for such planning and diplomacy.