Don’t talk to aliens, warns Stephen Hawking

I'm not sure I agree completely with Hawking on this. What he should say (and perhaps he does because we do not read his own words in the article) is that we should not blindly go about letting aliens know we exist, assuming they exist. That would require abandoning electromagnetic broadcasting. It would also require a total ban on the detonation of atomic weapons, as these give off a strong electromagnetic signal. It also implies that we should actively listen for aliens (e.g. the SETI project) to gain intelligence on aliens and then take steps to ensure no contact.

Hawking's alleged position is predicated on the belief that intelligent beings will act much as we do - as pillaging assholes. Additionally, their ability to get to us would mean they are more advanced than we are.

This point of view is worthy of consideration.

RE: Don’t talk to aliens, warns Stephen Hawking

...Such scenes are speculative, but Hawking uses them to lead on to a serious point: that a few life forms could be intelligent and pose a threat. Hawking believes that contact with such a species could be devastating for humanity.

He suggests that aliens might simply raid Earth for its resources and then move on: “We only have to look at ourselves to see how intelligent life might develop into something we wouldn’t want to meet. I imagine they might exist in massive ships, having used up all the resources from their home planet. Such advanced aliens would perhaps become nomads, looking to conquer and colonise whatever planets they can reach.”

He concludes that trying to make contact with alien races is “a little too risky”. He said: “If aliens ever visit us, I think the outcome would be much as when Christopher Columbus first landed in America, which didn’t turn out very well for the Native Americans.”...

What Hawking is saying is that aliens will be just like Americans and we know what Americans do.