Autonomous Guardians

Clarke, Beth (2024) Autonomous Guardians. In: 2024 World Science Fiction Convention, 2024-08-08 - 2024-08-12, SEC.

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Abstract

Winner of the 2024 IEEE Stranger than Fiction Poster Competition. Time is running out. The Secret Taskforce for Responding to Alien Threats to Humanity (STRATH) has uncovered a plan by an alien superpower to invade Earth by 2100, driven by their desire to eliminate us as competitors for control of the cosmos. To avert an all-out war, we must demonstrate our capacity to expand our territory harmoniously. Enter the Decentralised Autonomous Community in Space (DACS), a revolutionary framework that could be our salvation. This system enables satellites to communicate and self-govern through a distributed ledger, which verifies and securely synchronises telemetry data across all available satellites. As a result, communications are tamperproof, transparent, and trustworthy, essential for strategic coordination. To encourage new alliances with alien civilisations, we must demonstrate our willingness to cooperate with them. Extending the DACS principles, we can develop an Internet of Things sensor network that shares real-time data on our exploration activities with our allies and neighbours, promoting a responsible and peaceful expansion. While we strive for peace and cooperation, humanity must be able to defend itself and retaliate if necessary. The DACS framework empowers satellites from all nations on Earth to unite, operating autonomously using smart contracts, and form self-organising networks capable of dynamic threat response. These networks serve as Planetary Guardians, poised to defend humanity from alien attackers. Serving as our interstellar front line, the Guardians swiftly coordinate to neutralise threats from any force that dares challenge us. Only by uniting under the banner of DACS can humanity secure its future in space.

ORCID iDs

Clarke, Beth ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-6042-2018;
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)