  The Defense Department and NASA are investigating the possibility that aliens
are currently surveilling Earth. This aligns with some
search-for-extraterrestrial-intelligence (SETI) theorists who have concluded
that ET's best strategy for opening a channel of communication is to send
artificially intelligent probes to our Solar System for that purpose. This is a
golden age for traditional SETI, which is currently well funded, with most of
the world's radio telescopes now engaged in the hunt. One way or another,
contact with aliens may be imminent. There has been no planning among nations
for the aftermath of a first detection. This paper advocates for such planning
and diplomacy.
