---
title: "Potential cultural impact of extraterrestrial contact"
chunk: 11/12
source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potential_cultural_impact_of_extraterrestrial_contact"
category: "reference"
tags: "science, encyclopedia"
date_saved: "2026-05-05T04:33:45.687876+00:00"
instance: "kb-cron"
---

=== Scientific and technological ===
The scientific and technological impact of extraterrestrial contact through electromagnetic waves would probably be quite small, especially at first. However, if the message contains a large amount of information, deciphering it could give humans access to a galactic heritage perhaps predating the formation of the Solar System, which may greatly advance our technology and science. A possible negative effect could be to demoralize research scientists as they come to know that what they are researching may already be known to another civilization.
On the other hand, extraterrestrial civilizations with malicious intent could send (unfiltered) information that could enable or facilitate human civilization to destroy itself, such as powerful computer viruses, knowledge to build an advanced artificial intelligence or information on how to make extremely potent weapons that humans would not yet be able to use responsibly. While the motives for such an action are unknown, it may require minimal energy use on the part of the extraterrestrials. It may also be possible that such is sent without malicious intent. According to Musso, however, computer viruses in particular will be nearly impossible unless extraterrestrials possess detailed knowledge of human computer architectures, which would only happen if a human message sent to the stars were protected with little thought to security. Even a virtual machine on which extraterrestrials could run computer programs could be designed specifically for the purpose, bearing little relation to computer systems commonly used on Earth. In addition, humans could send messages to extraterrestrials detailing that they do not want access to the Encyclopædia Galactica until they have reached a suitable level of advancement, thus possibly raising chances that harmful impacts of technology from recipient extraterrestrials are mitigated.
Extraterrestrial technology could have profound impacts on the nature of human culture and civilization. Just as television provided a new outlet for a wide variety of political, religious, and social groups, and as the printing press made the Bible available to the common people of Europe, allowing them to interpret it for themselves, so an extraterrestrial technology might change humanity in ways not immediately apparent. Harrison speculates that a knowledge of extraterrestrial technologies could increase the gap between scientific and cultural progress, leading to societal shock and an inability to compensate for negative effects of technology. He gives the example of improvements in agricultural technology during the Industrial Revolution, which displaced thousands of farm laborers until society could retrain them for jobs suited to the new social order. Contact with an extraterrestrial civilization far more advanced than humanity could cause a much greater shock than the Industrial Revolution, or anything previously experienced by humanity.
Michaud suggests that humanity could be impacted by an influx of extraterrestrial science and technology in the same way that medieval European scholars were impacted by the knowledge of Arab scientists. Humanity might at first revere the knowledge as having the potential to advance the human species, and might even feel inferior to the extraterrestrial species, but would gradually grow in arrogance as it gained more and more intimate knowledge of the science, technology, and other cultural developments of an advanced extraterrestrial civilization.
The discovery of extraterrestrial intelligence would have various impacts on biology and astrobiology. The discovery of extraterrestrial life in any form, intelligent or non-intelligent, would give humanity greater insight into the nature of life on Earth and would improve the conception of how the tree of life is organized. Human biologists could possibly learn about extraterrestrial biochemistry and observe how it differs from that found on Earth. This knowledge could help human civilization to learn which aspects of life are common throughout the universe and which are possibly specific to Earth.

=== Worldviews ===
Some have argued that confirmed reliable detection of extraterrestrial intelligence or contact may be one of the biggest moments in human history and would have major implications for humanity including its contemporary prevalent worldviews, not just from implications within the fields of theology (see above) and science (see above), similar to the paradigm shift away from geocentrism as a dominant element of human worldviews.
Harvard astronomer and lead scientist of The Galileo Project, Avi Loeb, has argued that humanity is not ready to adopt a sense of what he calls "cosmic modesty" and that this could change if the project detects "relics" of more advanced civilizations. Loeb postulates that if we find that we "are not the smartest kid on the cosmic block, it will give us a different perspective" – such as the way we think about our place in the universe, for example with relevance to prevalent religious worldviews, in which humans may often be considered unique or exceptional.
According to Major John R. King, potential sociological consequences of alien contact may include (1) Initial shock and consternation (2) Loss or reduction of ego (3) Modification of human values (4) Decrease in status of [certain] scientists and (5) Reevaluation of religions. The "mediocrity principle" which claims that "there is nothing special about Earth's status or position in the Universe" could present a great challenge to Abrahamic religions, which "teach that human beings are purposefully created by God and occupy a privileged position in relation to other creatures", albeit some have argued that "discovery of life elsewhere in the Universe would not compromise God's love for Earth life" despite there being no "positive affirmation of alien life" in popular religious texts such as the Bible and that other civilisations may be "completely unaware of Jesus' story" and may have no such popular story from their own past. There is widespread belief that religions would adapt to contact.