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SETI Post-Detection Protocols: Progress Towards a New Version (2510.14506v1)
Published 16 Oct 2025 in astro-ph.IM and physics.pop-ph
Abstract: The International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) SETI Committee has long provided guiding principles for responding to a potential detection of a SETI signal. The foundational Declaration of Principles Concerning Activities Following the Detection of Extraterrestrial Intelligence, first formulated in 1989, has been widely recognised by the international scientific community. A supplemental set of draft protocols addressing the possibility of a reply to an extraterrestrial signal was prepared in 1995 by the IAA SETI Permanent Committee, with both documents presented in a position paper to the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space in 2000. In keeping with the evolving landscape of SETI research, the IAA Declaration of Principles was streamlined and updated in 2010. Recognising the need for continued adaptation, the IAA SETI Committee established a Task Group in 2022 to re-examine the protocols in light of recent advances in search methodologies, the expansion of international participation in SETI, and the increasing complexity of the global information environment. The Group recognises the living document nature of the protocols, which will require ongoing refinement to remain relevant and effective in a rapidly changing world. A draft revised Declaration of Principles was presented at the IAC 2024 in Milan, and initial feedback was received from the community, particularly members of the IAA SETI Committee. Since then, we have continued to seek broader community input in a structured process, refining the proposed updates based on further discussions and consultations. A Revised Declaration of Principles, is presented here.
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Overview
This paper is about updating the “rules of conduct” for scientists if we ever find solid evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence (ETI)—in simple terms, signs of an alien civilization. These rules are called the “Declaration of Principles,” and they help researchers verify a discovery, share information responsibly, and decide if and how the world should reply. The authors explain how these rules are being revised to fit today’s science and media environment.
Quick definitions
- SETI: The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence—looking for signs of alien technology using astronomy.
- Technosignatures: Clues that technology exists somewhere else in the universe, like unusual radio signals, laser flashes, or giant structures affecting starlight.
- Protocols/Declaration of Principles: Agreed guidelines that tell scientists what to do after a possible discovery.
Key Objectives and Questions
The paper focuses on updating the existing rules to answer practical questions such as:
- How should scientists carefully verify a possible alien signal before announcing anything?
- How can they share accurate information with the public and avoid rumors spreading on social media?
- How should data be stored and protected so other scientists can check the results?
- Who should be involved in deciding whether humanity should send a reply—and when (or if) that should happen?
- How can these rules reflect modern SETI, which looks for many kinds of technosignatures, not just radio signals?
How the Researchers Worked
To update the rules, the team ran a structured, step-by-step process:
- They formed a Task Group in 2022 under the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) SETI Committee to revise the 2010 version of the Declaration.
- They presented early ideas at major conferences (IAC 2023 in Baku and IAC 2024 in Milan) and asked for feedback from the SETI community.
- In spring and summer 2025, they used online surveys (Google Forms) to gather detailed, anonymous comments on specific parts of the draft—from committee members and the wider community (over 350 people were invited, including scientists, engineers, social scientists, lawyers, and communication experts).
- They summarized feedback (using tools like ChatGPT to organize comments), revised the document in August 2025, and refined it further in September 2025.
- They plan to present the latest draft at IAC 2025 in Sydney for final input, then hold a formal vote, and seek IAA’s official endorsement in 2026.
Think of this like updating a school’s emergency plan: you ask students, teachers, and experts for ideas, test the plan, improve it based on what people say, and then officially adopt the new version.
Main Findings and Updates
The updated draft makes several important changes to keep up with modern science and media:
- Broader scope: It’s not just about radio signals anymore. The rules now cover technosignatures of many kinds (e.g., lasers, infrared clues from huge energy use, possible megastructures).
- Clear verification steps: Candidate signals should be checked carefully, ideally by different teams using different tools, and results should be shared transparently.
- Responsible communication: Scientists and institutions should provide accurate, timely updates, clearly label speculation, and correct false alarms quickly. There’s emphasis on risk communication (explaining uncertainty and potential risks calmly and clearly).
- Data archiving: Verification data and analysis methods should be preserved and shared, ideally in multiple long-term repositories so others can replicate the findings.
- Safety and ethics: Institutions should protect researchers (e.g., from online harassment) and follow strong ethical and legal standards.
- Post-detection support: A dedicated Post-Detection Subcommittee will help coordinate science, communication, ethics, law, and policy after a confirmed detection.
- No immediate reply: If a detection is confirmed, scientists should not send a message back right away. Instead, they should work with the United Nations and other international bodies to decide whether and how to respond.
Community feedback was very positive overall: in one survey, over 70% of respondents rated their satisfaction with the August 2025 draft at 8 or higher (on a 10-point scale). The September 2025 draft further tightened procedures for handling evidence, emphasized transparency, strengthened data storage guidance, and spelled out “no reply until international consultation.”
Why It’s Important
Updating these rules matters because:
- Today’s world communicates fast and widely, especially via social media. Clear, careful guidelines help avoid panic, misinformation, or rushed conclusions.
- Science has advanced. Researchers now look for many types of technosignatures, so the rules must fit more than just radio SETI.
- Trust and openness: Sharing methods and data lets other scientists check results, which builds public confidence.
- Global cooperation: A discovery would affect everyone, so decisions—especially about sending a reply—should involve international bodies like the UN.
- Researcher protection: The guidelines encourage institutions to safeguard scientists and handle communication responsibly.
Implications and Potential Impact
If these updated protocols are adopted:
- The global SETI community will have a modern, agreed set of best practices to follow if a credible sign of alien technology is found.
- Verification and communication will be more transparent, careful, and consistent—reducing confusion and improving trust.
- Data will be better preserved and accessible, helping science move forward.
- Any reply to extraterrestrial intelligence will be considered through international consultation, reflecting the interests of humanity as a whole.
- A dedicated subcommittee and future best-practices documents will keep the approach flexible and ready for new technologies and challenges.
In short, this work helps make sure that if humanity ever finds real evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence, we’ll handle it calmly, safely, and wisely—together.
Knowledge Gaps
Knowledge gaps, limitations, and open questions
The following items capture what remains missing, uncertain, or unexplored, with concrete directions for future work:
- Define quantitative verification standards (statistical thresholds, minimum independent replications across distinct instruments/methods, false-positive taxonomy) and a formal process for determining “consensus” among investigators.
- Develop step-by-step operational checklists and timelines for candidate handling, verification, and announcement to support consistent execution across institutions and modalities.
- Clarify the mandate, authority, decision rules, membership criteria, and conflict-of-interest safeguards for the proposed Post-Detection Subcommittee, including triggers for its activation and continuity planning.
- Specify the UN consultation procedure for reply transmissions (legal instrument, timeline, participating bodies, public input mechanisms, decision thresholds, and outcomes documentation).
- Identify enforcement and compliance mechanisms for the “no reply should be sent” principle, especially for private actors and non-state entities (e.g., national licensing, sanctions, ITU coordination).
- Document the workflow for rapid frequency protection via ITU extraordinary procedures (pre-negotiated commitments, targeted bands, escalation pathways, and time-critical steps), and extend protection guidance to non-radio technosignatures (optical/IR, artefacts).
- Establish detailed data archiving plans: named repositories, open standard formats, redundancy across geographic regions, long-term funding commitments, provenance tracking, and tamper-evident storage (e.g., WORM, cryptographic signatures).
- Create researcher safety protocols covering digital and physical security, harassment/doxxing response, legal counsel availability, crisis communications, and mental health support, including institutional responsibilities and resourcing.
- Produce risk communication playbooks for candidate and confirmed detections: rumor monitoring, multilingual materials, coordination with platforms, timing of updates, and measurable effectiveness metrics.
- Set policies for the use of AI in analysis and communication (provenance tagging of outputs, deepfake detection, audit trails, guardrails against synthetic signal hoaxes, and human-in-the-loop requirements).
- Define procedures for managing potential infohazards in ET information content (pre-release review, redaction criteria, ethical/legal oversight, staged disclosure).
- Outline pathways for detections originating from classified systems or proprietary/private datasets (declassification, IP/licensing agreements, export controls/ITAR compliance, FOIA considerations).
- Improve inclusivity and representativeness in governance and consultation (Global South participation, translation/localization, engagement with Indigenous, religious, and cultural communities, non-academic public input).
- Harmonize standards of evidence and communication protocols between technosignatures and biosignatures efforts to reduce inconsistency across astrobiology domains.
- Address liability and risk allocation for erroneous announcements or consequential impacts (indemnification, insurance, dispute resolution frameworks).
- Strengthen cybersecurity for observatories and repositories (threat models, incident response plans, supply-chain assurances, comprehensive logging and transparency).
- Define data licensing and access policies (open licenses, attribution norms, embargo rules, controlled access for sensitive datasets, preprint and media coordination).
- Create an evaluation plan for the Declaration’s implementation (KPIs, audit schedules, periodic reviews, tabletop exercises and simulation-based stress tests).
- Map roles and notification chains with national governments and civil–military agencies (emergency management integration, deconfliction with national security considerations).
- Provide communication guidance to manage public conflation with UAP (scope boundaries, referral protocols, consistent messaging to avoid misinterpretation).
- Establish procedures for handling physical artefacts or in-situ technosignatures (chain-of-custody, planetary protection coordination, ownership/salvage law, sample handling standards).
- Develop modality-specific detection guidance (radio, optical, IR, waste heat, transit anomalies, megastructures), including instrumentation standards and verification nuances.
- Enhance the community feedback process (higher response rates, mitigate sampling bias, multilingual surveys, transparent analysis methods beyond ad hoc tools like Google Forms/ChatGPT).
- Design a legitimate public deliberation process for potential reply content (deliberative democracy mechanisms, civic tech tools, representativeness, transparency, and safeguards against capture).
- Clarify embargo vs. transparency obligations during verification (leak management, coordinated preprints/journal policies, thresholds for interim updates).
- Identify designated spokespersons, training requirements, backup coverage across time zones, and media protocols aligned with researcher safety and institutional responsibilities.
- Provide ITU procedural specifics (documentation of extraordinary procedures, pre-commitments by member states, rapid convening mechanisms, lines of authority).
- Formalize misinformation/disinformation response partnerships (fact-checkers, platform escalation pathways, real-time dashboards, counter-messaging strategies).
- Define sustainable funding and resourcing plans for long-term operations (data repositories, monitoring, Subcommittee staffing, communications, legal support), including budget models and funding sources.
Glossary
- Astrobiology: An interdisciplinary field studying the origin, evolution, distribution, and future of life in the universe. "A significant interest within the NASA Astrobiology Program concerning standards of evidence for biosignatures and potential discoveries of life beyond Earth, and the communication of such science results to public audiences."
- Biosignatures: Observable indicators that may imply the presence of past or present life. "standards of evidence for biosignatures"
- Committee on Space Research (COSPAR): An international scientific committee that promotes space research and its applications. "the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) of the International Science Council"
- Decadal Astrobiology Research and Exploration Strategy (DARES): NASA’s community-driven strategy process to guide priorities in astrobiology over a decade. "The NASA Decadal Astrobiology Research and Exploration Strategy [13] process underway in 2024-2026"
- Electromagnetic signals: Radiation across the electromagnetic spectrum (e.g., radio, optical) used in SETI as potential carriers of technosignatures. "If the evidence of detection is in the form of electromagnetic signals, international agreement should be sought"
- Infrared excess: Anomalously high infrared emission, often interpreted as waste heat from large energy usage or structures. "infrared excess associated with large-scale energy usage"
- International Academy of Astronautics (IAA): A non-governmental organization fostering the development of astronautics for peaceful purposes. "The International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) SETI Committee has long provided guiding principles for responding to a potential detection of a SETI signal."
- International Astronomical Union: The international authority for assigning designations to celestial bodies and features. "the International Astronomical Union"
- International Institute of Space Law: A professional body dedicated to the development of space law. "the International Institute of Space Law"
- International Telecommunication Union: A United Nations specialized agency that coordinates global radio spectrum use and satellite orbits. "the International Telecommunication Union"
- Megastructures: Hypothetical or engineered astro-scale constructions that could produce detectable signatures. "anomalies in astronomical measurements due to megastructures"
- Messaging to Extraterrestrial Intelligence (METI): The practice of sending deliberate signals or messages to extraterrestrial intelligences. "This Declaration does not address the separate and distinct subject of messaging to extraterrestrial intelligence in advance of a confirmed detected extraterrestrial signal (METI)."
- Narrow-band radio signals: Radio transmissions confined to a very small frequency range, often considered indicative of artificial origin. "narrow-band radio signals"
- Office of Outer Space Affairs: The United Nations office responsible for promoting international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space. "the Office of Outer Space Affairs"
- Order of the Octopus: A network of early-career researchers in SETI focused on collaboration and community-building. "The Order of the Octopus, a network of early career researchers in SETI"
- Post-Detection Hub: A research initiative focusing on societal, governance, and communication issues following a potential SETI detection. "The SETI Post-Detection Hub at the University of St Andrews"
- Post-Detection Sub-Committee: A designated group within the IAA SETI Committee to guide actions after a confirmed detection. "The IAA SETI Committee will maintain a Post-Detection Sub-Committee to assist and advise in matters that may arise in the event of a confirmed detection"
- Post-Detection Protocols: Agreed guidelines and procedures for handling, verifying, and communicating potential detections of extraterrestrial intelligence. "The revision of the IAA SETI Post-Detection Protocols is a multi-year process"
- Radio SETI: The search for technosignatures using radio astronomy methods. "primarily framed it around radio SETI."
- Risk communication: The practice of communicating about potential risks and uncertainties clearly and responsibly to diverse audiences. "This report should follow best practices in risk communication."
- Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI): The scientific endeavor to detect signs of intelligent life beyond Earth, often via technosignatures. "the scientific Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI)"
- Technosignatures: Observable evidence of technology built or used by extraterrestrial intelligences. "'Technosignatures' are defined as observable evidence of technology built or utilised by extraterrestrial beings"
- Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP): Observations of aerial phenomena that remain unexplained after investigation. "nor to unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) in the Earth's atmosphere."
- United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNCOPUOS): A UN body that governs the exploration and use of space for peaceful purposes. "UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNCOPUOS)"
Practical Applications
Immediate Applications
Below are actionable, deployable uses of the paper’s findings and methods that organizations can adopt now.
- Standardized candidate verification workflows for rare, high-impact discoveries
- Sectors: academia (astronomy, astrobiology, particle physics), national labs, observatories; software/data science
- Tools/products/workflows: stepwise SOPs for independent replication across facilities; cross-institution MoUs for rapid follow-up; templated “candidate-to-confirmation” checklists; multi-method verification plans (radio, optical, IR)
- Assumptions/Dependencies: participating facilities with compatible instrumentation; willingness to share observing time and pipelines; agreement on evidence thresholds
- Open, geo-redundant data archiving with reproducible analysis
- Sectors: academia, research infrastructure, cloud providers
- Tools/products/workflows: dual-location, long-term repositories (e.g., Zenodo, institutional repos, national archives); open standard formats (e.g., FITS + metadata schema); code escrow and containerized analysis for reproducibility
- Assumptions/Dependencies: sustained funding for archival storage; clear licensing; data management plans that meet institutional and funder requirements
- Tamper-evident scientific recordkeeping and provenance
- Sectors: software, cybersecurity, research IT
- Tools/products/workflows: WORM storage, cryptographic hashing/timestamping, notarized data packages, append-only logs; optional blockchain-based attestations
- Assumptions/Dependencies: institutional IT capacity; alignment with privacy and export controls; training for lab staff
- Media and risk-communication playbooks for extraordinary claims
- Sectors: academia, science communications, journalism, public affairs
- Tools/products/workflows: pre-approved messaging trees; rumor control pages; plain-language summaries with “what we know/what we don’t”; preprint press etiquette; rapid correction protocols
- Assumptions/Dependencies: press-office readiness; staff trained in risk communication; coordination across partners to avoid mixed messages
- Researcher safety and wellbeing protocols during high-visibility events
- Sectors: HR, campus security, legal, communications
- Tools/products/workflows: doxxing mitigation, media gatekeeping, surge email/social media handling, mental health support, escalation paths
- Assumptions/Dependencies: institutional policy support; dedicated points of contact; crisis communications integration
- Structured, anonymous community consultation and decision support
- Sectors: academia, professional societies, policy
- Tools/products/workflows: survey tools (e.g., Google Forms) with demographic opt-ins; LLM-assisted synthesis of feedback; transparent issue-tracking and response matrices
- Assumptions/Dependencies: data protection compliance; editorial oversight of AI outputs; clear timelines and scope for consultation
- Secure, anonymous online voting for scientific governance
- Sectors: professional societies, consortia management, civic-tech vendors
- Tools/products/workflows: auditable e-voting platforms; eligibility verification; simple-majority adoption workflows; post-vote transparency reports
- Assumptions/Dependencies: trusted identity verification; member buy-in; documented bylaws for ratification
- Post-Detection Subcommittee as a replicable “incident response” model
- Sectors: academia, research consortia, space agencies
- Tools/products/workflows: standing interdisciplinary team (science, law, ethics, social sciences, comms); activation criteria; roles/responsibilities; media/social platform liaison scripts
- Assumptions/Dependencies: clear mandate and resourcing; agreed activation authority; ongoing training/exercises
- Frequency protection readiness for radio technosignatures
- Sectors: radio astronomy, telecom, spectrum regulators
- Tools/products/workflows: ITU liaison templates; documentation for invoking extraordinary procedures; spectrum-use monitoring dashboards
- Assumptions/Dependencies: national regulator cooperation; shared interference logs; legal counsel on filings
- Legal and ethical readiness packs for post-detection research
- Sectors: law/policy, space law institutes, IRBs/ethics boards
- Tools/products/workflows: briefings on applicable treaties and national laws; template MOUs with legal partners; ethical guidance for data release and global equity
- Assumptions/Dependencies: access to legal expertise; harmonization with institutional policies; clarity on jurisdiction
- Cross-sector tabletop simulations and drills
- Sectors: observatories, agencies, media partners, social platforms
- Tools/products/workflows: scenario injects (candidate, false positive, confirmation); joint timing protocols; after-action reviews and improvement plans
- Assumptions/Dependencies: partner participation; exercise directors; non-disclosure where needed
- Education and public literacy modules on “how science verifies”
- Sectors: education, museums, media, citizen science
- Tools/products/workflows: classroom kits explaining verification and uncertainty; museum exhibits; citizen-science tutorials on signal vetting
- Assumptions/Dependencies: curriculum alignment; open educational resources; partner institutions for dissemination
Long-Term Applications
These opportunities likely require further research, international coordination, standards-setting, or scaling before deployment.
- UN-led international framework for replies to confirmed ETI detections
- Sectors: policy, diplomacy, international law
- Tools/products/workflows: UN/OOSA and COPUOS procedures; consultative assemblies; reply moratorium language; trigger conditions and governance for message content
- Assumptions/Dependencies: state participation; consensus-building across geopolitical blocs; alignment with existing space treaties
- Global technosignature data standards and registries
- Sectors: academia, standards bodies, data infrastructure
- Tools/products/workflows: interoperable metadata schemas for multi-wavelength technosignatures; open APIs; persistent identifiers; community-maintained registries of candidates/confirmations
- Assumptions/Dependencies: standards governance; funding for maintenance; backward compatibility with legacy datasets
- Resilient, distributed data grid for continuous monitoring and archiving
- Sectors: cloud, HPC, research networks
- Tools/products/workflows: geo-distributed storage with automated replication; integrity checks; embargo/embargo-lift mechanisms; disaster recovery plans
- Assumptions/Dependencies: cross-border data agreements; cost-sharing models; cybersecurity hardening
- Coordinated misinformation early-warning and response with social platforms
- Sectors: social media, news, academia
- Tools/products/workflows: event “circuit-breakers” for virality; authoritative information labels; API-supported rumor dashboards; crisis escalation contacts
- Assumptions/Dependencies: platform cooperation; safeguards against censorship; transparency audits
- AI-assisted verification and risk communication at scale
- Sectors: AI/ML, research software engineering, communications
- Tools/products/workflows: ML anomaly detection across multi-instrument data; LLM-generated multilingual summaries with human-in-the-loop review; bias and hallucination controls; provenance-aware AI outputs
- Assumptions/Dependencies: reliable training data; robust evaluation; governance for responsible AI use
- International spectrum contingency mechanisms for ETI events
- Sectors: ITU, national regulators, telecom
- Tools/products/workflows: pre-agreed temporary protections or “quiet windows” for key bands; global interference reporting exchanges; satellite operator coordination
- Assumptions/Dependencies: telecom industry buy-in; economic impact assessments; enforceability across jurisdictions
- Expanded ethical, legal, and social implications (ELSI) frameworks for global equity
- Sectors: ethics, law, social sciences, development policy
- Tools/products/workflows: equity impact assessments for data release; multilingual, accessible announcements; participation pathways for underrepresented regions
- Assumptions/Dependencies: funding for translation/accessibility; inclusive governance structures; monitoring of unintended consequences
- Curriculum and credentialing for post-detection competencies
- Sectors: higher education, professional societies
- Tools/products/workflows: interdisciplinary degree tracks and micro-credentials (verification, risk comms, law/ethics); certification for incident response roles
- Assumptions/Dependencies: accreditation processes; industry/agency demand; practicum sites
- Citizen science and amateur networks for verification support
- Sectors: education, software, maker communities, observatories
- Tools/products/workflows: vetted pipelines for community follow-up observations; quality control layers; training and badging systems
- Assumptions/Dependencies: clear task design; data quality safeguards; liability and safety considerations
- Institutionalization of periodic, multi-actor post-detection exercises
- Sectors: space agencies, academia, media, regulators
- Tools/products/workflows: annual cross-border drills; exercise standards; public transparency reports to build trust
- Assumptions/Dependencies: sustained commitment; neutral conveners; lessons-learned integration into policy
- Sustainable funding and governance for long-lived repositories and protocols
- Sectors: philanthropy, government, international organizations
- Tools/products/workflows: endowments or multi-year compacts; independent oversight boards; community advisory councils
- Assumptions/Dependencies: diversified funding; governance that outlasts leadership turnover; public accountability
- Translation and cultural adaptation pipelines for global announcements
- Sectors: localization, media, NGOs
- Tools/products/workflows: rapid multilingual translation with expert review; cultural liaison networks; accessibility (screen readers, low-bandwidth formats)
- Assumptions/Dependencies: translator networks; funding for localization; quality assurance processes
Notes on cross-cutting feasibility
- Many applications presume voluntary adoption; formal mandates may require agency or intergovernmental action.
- Open data and transparency are constrained by privacy, security, and export controls; governance must balance openness and risk.
- Effective implementation depends on collaboration across observatories, platforms, regulators, and legal bodies that may have divergent incentives.
- AI-assisted processes require rigorous human oversight, evaluation metrics, and provenance safeguards to avoid error amplification.
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