about.
The Discovery and Futures Lab is a research initiative within the Carl Sagan Center for Research at the SETI Institute.
The search for life beyond Earth is interesting to many people, not only the scientists and engineers directly involved in the research, but also a much wider audience. Along with interest, each person brings their own individual knowledge, beliefs, and personal experiences, all of which exist within an ever-shifting social landscape that includes popular media depictions, political tides, technological innovations, and other cultural forces. And of course, the science is increasingly complex. Understandably, then, the search for life beyond Earth is also an area where misunderstandings and gaps in knowledge are common.
Much as the scientific aspects of astrobiology and SETI require a coordinated, multidisciplinary approach, the Discovery and Futures Lab bridges astrobiology and SETI science with social sciences, humanities, and the law.
Why “Discovery and Futures”?
Discovery is a dynamic process, rather than a single inflection point.
The idea of discovery as a “before and after” moment came about in an era when the prime consideration was the possibility of a radio signal that could be quickly and definitively confirmed, and then announced in a controlled manner. Today, the scientific and public communications terrain of potential discoveries of life beyond Earth (both biosignatures and technosignatures) is much more complex.
“Discovery and Futures” provides an expansive framing that conveys several important aspects of our approach. First, it reflects a modern understanding of discovery as an extended process, one that will certainly continue beyond the first definitive evidence of alien life or technology. Second, by not artificially dividing the discovery process into the before-and-after of a single inflection point, it encompasses everything we can learn from prior instances of putative discoveries and false alarms. Last but not least, it conveys how essential it is to do our preparatory work well in advance.