SETI AIR

THE LIBRARY OF THE GREAT SILENCE

A Terrestrial Center for Interstellar Research on Planetary Futures

Jonathon Keats
Chief Terrestrial Librarian
in Partnership with the SETI Institute

In the summer of 1950, several scientists were discussing extraterrestrial intelligence over lunch. Responding to the claim that intelligent life must be commonplace throughout the universe, the Nobel Prize-winning physicist Enrico Fermi famously asked, “Where is everybody?”

With this conundrum, known as the Fermi Paradox, Fermi called attention to the fact that a universe teeming with intelligence would likely be obvious to us. To explain the absence of extraterrestrial contact, commonly referred to as the Great Silence, scientists have hypothesized a Great Filter: Life must pass one or more crucial technological thresholds in order to colonize interstellar space. Some aspects of societal advancement appear to be self-defeating for the majority of advanced civilizations.

The Great Filter has gained plausibility with the rise of existential threats ranging from the Cold War to anthropogenic climate change. Since some civilizations may have successfully averted certain perils that could lie in the future for others, all can potentially benefit by contributing to an interstellar reference library.

Founded on the principle that knowledge about catastrophic risks and strategies of survival are of universal interest – and that all beings throughout the cosmos want to thrive for as long as possible – the Library of the Great Silence will invite beings throughout the universe to collaboratively research planetary futures. At the core of this new research center, managed in partnership with the SETI Institute at the Hat Creek Radio Observatory, will be an archive of transformations presented in the most accessible form possible: Instead of texts, the library will collect objects associated with transformational moments, including natural disturbances (instantiated in materials such as lava and meteorites and fossils of extinct species), and human impact (instantiated in artifacts ranging from handaxes and money to trinitite and plastiglomerate). The library will also provide an open space to explore relationships between collected items, enabling representation of phenomena ranging from chance to complexity to overreach. An open invitation to contribute information and ideas will be broadcast throughout the cosmos.

Although interstellar exchange could take time, a material archive of transformations will have immediate global value that may be sufficient to extend the lifespan of human civilization in the interim. Manipulating existentially significant objects without the use of words – and without the underlying assumptions of language or limitations on who participates in the conversation – may facilitate comprehension of human behaviors that has previously eluded us, or even directly encourage beneficial practices such as cooperation. And the collective effort of nominating and compiling materials for the Library of the Great Silence may inspire awareness of our precarious situation, inspiring greater responsibility.

The Library of the Great Silence is currently seeking funding. Click here to download the prospectus. or email SETI AIR Program Director Bettina Forget at bforget@seti.org.