Scientists receive and decode an extraterrestrial signal containing instructions for building advanced technology, but following the instructions creates an entity or system whose goals may not align with human survival.
Directly maps to SETI protocol debates about whether to execute alien instructions, and more broadly to the risk of deploying powerful systems whose design goals are opaque.
Domains: First Contact and Alien CivilizationsArtificial Intelligence and Machine LearningExistential Risk and Civilizational Collapse
Scenario Types: Warning / Self-preventing prophecyThought experiment / What-if
Outcomes: CautionaryCatastrophic