Society–Knowledge–Discourse

The End of Dominion. Human Life after Contact with Extraterrestrial Civilizations

The project began in 2023 and is being conducted in collaboration with Professor Michael Bohlander of Durham University and Dr John Elliott of the University of St Andrews, both in the UK. The project’s core question is: What would be the societal impact of a real first contact with an extraterrestrial civilization?

The project is divided into two main phases. Firstly, an exploratory questionnaire study was conducted to survey attitudes towards extraterrestrial intelligence and the consequences of first contact in various countries. A questionnaire based on the work of Michael Schetsche and Andreas Anton on exosociology was developed for this purpose and used to collect data online via the Durham University website from July to October 2024. The aim was to obtain data from as many countries as possible.

A total of 7,441 participants from 88 countries took part. It should be noted that this is not a representative study. The results suggest that the sample generally exhibits a higher degree of openness with regard to the topic. Around 78% of respondents stated that they believe humanity will one day come into contact with an extraterrestrial civilisation. Furthermore, 60% assume that the Earth has already been visited by extraterrestrials.

In the second phase of the project, experts from various disciplines, such as psychology, sociology, religious studies and law, were asked to write articles on the possible consequences of first contact with an extraterrestrial civilisation, based on specific key questions.

Balkendiagramm Umfrage Durham
Fig. 1

Answers to the question: Do you believe that humanity will one day make contact with an extraterrestrial civilization or that extraterrestrials have already visited Earth?

In a final step, the results of the questionnaire study will be compared with the experts’ assessments in order to arrive at a well-founded overall reflection on the topic complex. The expert contributions and the results of the questionnaire study will be published in 2026 in an anthology entitled “Human life after contact with extraterrestrial civilizations”.

Project Team