Team:Brown-Stanford/SynEthics/Videos/JillTarter

Dr. Jill Tarter is an astronomer, Director of the Center for SETI Research (Search for Extraterrestrial Life) at the SETI Institute. Her contributions to technical research and public advocacy have been instrumental in the creation of a movement to search for extraterrestrial intelligence. Dr. Tarter’s exploits were the basis of the protagonist in Carl Sagan’s novel, Contact, and portrayed in the 1997 film adaptation by Jodie Foster.

(0:06) What sort of societal changes does the search for extraterrestrial life bring?
Dr. Tarter believes that the searching for extraterrestrial life brings an opportunity here on Earth to construct a sense of closeness with the cosmos, and with each other.

(1:00) Could we recognize alien life if it existed?
Dr. Tarter describes the hubris in assuming we will recognize life when we encounter it.

(1:43) What is the future of humanity?
Dr. Tarter recognizes that every problem ahead of us is global, but that problems are solvable.

(2:48) Any last words to the next generation of synthetic biologists?
Dr. Tarter urges us to engineer solutions to the problems passed on from the last generation.