A4.2 "John Billingham Cutting-Edge Lecture" - A New Version of the SETI Protocols: The “Declaration of Principles Concerning the Conduct of the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI): 2026 Update”

Kathryn DENNING

Associate Professor, IAA Associate Member, York University, IAA SETI Committee

Canada

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We (Kathryn Denning, Michael A. Garrett, Carol Oliver, Leslie I. Tennen) report on a multi-year process undertaken within the IAA SETI Committee to update the Decla- ration of Principles Concerning the Conduct of the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI), long known colloquially as the ‘SETI Post-Detection Protocols’ (Garrett et al. 2025; Tennen et al. 2024; Oliver et al. 2023). The IAA SETI Committee has, since the 1980s, developed guiding principles for the scientific community’s conduct in the event of the possible detection of extraterrestrial intelligence (ETI). The original Declaration of Principles Concerning Activities Following the Detection of Extraterrestrial Intelligence, adopted in 1989, established a voluntary framework for best practices in verification, information sharing, public transparency, and international consultation. It received broad recognition from the international scientific community. This document, along with the complementary 1995 Draft Declaration of Principles Concerning the Sending of Communications to Extraterrestrial Intelligence, was also presented to UNCOPUOS in 2000. In 2010, a streamlined update of the 1989 Declaration with a modified title, The Declaration of Principles Concerning the Conduct of the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, was adopted by the IAA SETI Committee. Over the next decade, significant changes in the communications landscape, coupled with the diversification of technosignatures searches beyond classic radio SETI, made further revision of the Declaration essential. In 2022, the IAA SETI Committee established a Task Group to update the 2010 Declaration, with the aim of preserving the enduring values of earlier documents while making them relevant to the realities of twenty-first century science, media, and public engagement. This process has been informed by historical precedent, evolving scientific practice, and extensive community consultation. The new Declaration of Principles Concerning the Conduct of the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) – 2026 Update was approved by the IAA SETI Committee in a vote conducted in Dec 2025 - Jan 2026, with a very high voter approval rate. This 2026 Declaration of Principles maintains longstanding emphases on verification and transparency, and also includes: a broadened scope to encompass a range of potential technosignatures; an expanded Preamble which anticipates the creation of supplementary Best Practices (including guidance concerning safety for researchers, and best practices in science communication and risk communication); delineation of the responsibilities of scientists and their institutions; and specific acknowledgement of the need for post-detection-focused research collaboration with interdisciplinary experts in science communication, risk communication, social science, ethics, and law. Further, no transmissions should be sent in response to a confirmed detection without UN-level international consultations.