The internet is filled with conspiracy theorists and crackpots desperately trying to tell us that aliens have visited earth, abducted cows, or taken over the US government. This kind of tabloid fodder distracts us from the fact that scientists are working their asses off in trying to answer one of our most pressing questions: are we alone in the universe? There is a whole branch of astronomy dedicated to communication with extraterrestrial intelligence (known as CETI), and Stephen Hawking is pretty big on aliens himself, famously saying back in 2010 that we should be wary of advanced alien civilisations, because they'd look "to conquer and colonize whatever planets they could reach". Despite that ominous statement, Hawking recently announced Breakthrough Listen, the most far-reaching project yet in listening out for alien communications. While he maintained that an advanced alien civilisation might regard us as nothing more than bacteria (thanks, Steve), he concluded about alien life that "we are alive. We are intelligent. We must know". If making contact with alien forces spells the end of mankind, so be it. We're doomed on Earth anyway, and at least an alien invasion will give humanity something other than itself to blame for its inevitable demise. Here are seven technologies that will help us contact aliens, for better or worse...
Gamer, Researcher of strange things.
I'm a writer-editor hybrid whose writings on video games, technology and movies can be found across the internet. I've even ventured into the realm of current affairs on occasion but, unable to face reality, have retreated into expatiating on things on screens instead.
