Transcript: It may or may not be reassuring to know that SETI researchers have protocols in place for what to do if we finally detect evidence of intelligent aliens in space. Protocols have been set up to contact the United Nations and the world leaders and to avoid the widespread panic that might ensue. The truth is, we have no idea of the likelihood of SETI experiments being successful. We are compelled to do such experiments, and almost all that we know is that the idea and the reality of finding intelligence elsewhere will change us forever. Since our lifetime of a civilization and of the human species is so much less than the age of the Milky Way, it’s most likely that anyone we contact is likely to be far more advanced than us which is a sobering thought. The discovery of life or intelligence in the universe would be the final step in the Copernican Revolution with dramatic impacts on human culture and religion.