Humanity and the Future of Cosmic Civilization: A Perspective Through UAP
On-site reporting: Lucca, Italy, October 2026
Reporting and writing: Ryoko Kuwata (SPACE FRONTIER)
Beyond the Question of UAP
On October 10–11, 2026, the international conference “WORLD SUMMIT UFO/UAP” took place in Lucca, Italy.
Part 1 explored efforts to expand the UAP disclosure debate, which has largely been driven by the United States, into an international dialogue across national borders.
Part 2 examined national security, government investigations, scientific verification, and transparency through the professional backgrounds and public testimony of American and French experts.
In this final installment, I would like to consider an even larger question.
If humanity were to encounter an existence that could not be explained solely in terms of life and human intelligence as we know them on Earth, how might our societies and values change?
The debate surrounding UAP is a scientific challenge involving the investigation of unexplained phenomena. At the same time, it may offer an opportunity to reconsider how humanity understands its own existence.
This discussion extends beyond national security and disclosure to philosophy, anthropology, culture, religion, ethics, and human consciousness.
What Is NHI? Considering Unknown Intelligence
In recent years, the term NHI—Non-Human Intelligence—has become increasingly prominent in international discussions of UAP.
NHI refers broadly to intelligence other than human intelligence. In the UAP context, it is sometimes used when considering the possibility of intelligent beings unknown to humanity. However, the existence of reported UAP does not, by itself, establish that they are produced by NHI.
UAP reports can involve known natural phenomena, human-made objects, errors in observation systems, or incidents that remain unexplained because of insufficient information.
NASA’s 2023 independent study on UAP likewise stated that conclusive scientific evidence of extraterrestrial origin had not been established, and that understanding these phenomena requires high-quality observational data and continued examination. NHI therefore cannot be treated as an established fact.
Nevertheless, it is meaningful to consider the possibility of unknown intelligence from scientific, philosophical, and institutional perspectives. If humanity were to encounter a form of intelligence beyond anything it had previously imagined, the consequences would extend far beyond science and technology.
What is life? What is intelligence? What does it mean to be human? Would we regard an unknown existence as a threat, or could we approach it with understanding and dialogue?
These are questions that would concern society as a whole.
Peter Skafish: Approaching Unknown Intelligence Through Anthropology
Among the participants at the Lucca conference was Peter Skafish, a cultural anthropologist and co-founder of the U.S.-based research organization The Sol Foundation.
Skafish’s work reaches beyond the physical study of UAP to examine how encounters with unknown intelligence might affect human thought, culture, and social institutions.
Cultural anthropology compares the values, worldviews, and understandings of humanity found across different societies. Extending that perspective to unknown intelligence raises a fascinating question.
Do we assume that an unfamiliar intelligence would think as humans do, share our values, and act with the same motivations?
Even among humans, differences in culture, language, religion, and historical experience can lead to dramatically different interpretations of the same event. If an intelligence existed with a wholly different evolutionary history or way of perceiving reality, our everyday assumptions might not apply.
An important theme of Skafish’s work is the need to avoid treating the human worldview as an absolute standard, while opening these questions to wider social participation.
This perspective encourages us to see UAP not merely as a matter for a limited circle of government agencies or scientists, but as an issue with implications for humanity as a whole.
Where Does Earth Stand in the Universe?
Before considering unknown intelligence, perhaps we must first understand Earth’s own position in the universe.
Earth is one planet in our solar system. The solar system belongs to the Milky Way, a galaxy containing vast numbers of stars, while the universe contains enormous numbers of other galaxies.
Through space exploration, humanity has investigated planets and moons, discovered planets beyond our solar system, and searched for environments in which life might exist. Yet our understanding of the universe as a whole—and of the origins of life—remains limited.
For much of its history, humanity developed civilization with Earth as the center of its lived experience. We drew borders, formed nations, established political and economic systems, and developed cultures, religions, science, and technology. These are significant achievements in human history.
Viewed from the wider perspective of the cosmos, however, nations, cultures, and economic systems are also structures created by human beings over the course of Earth’s history.
Understanding Earth’s place in the universe does not mean rejecting these institutions. Rather, it means recognizing that they are neither the only possible arrangements nor immutable ones; they can change and evolve.
We are beings who share one planet, Earth, and Earth itself is part of a vast universe. This perspective matters when considering cooperation across borders, the planetary environment, the dignity of life, and our responsibility to future generations.
How Should Humanity Prepare for Contact with the Unknown?
If the existence of extraterrestrial life or an intelligence unlike our own were scientifically confirmed in the future, the discovery could profoundly affect humanity’s worldview.
The impact could not be measured by scientific or technological progress alone.
Governments and international institutions would face questions of information sharing, public communication, security responses, scientific inquiry, and international decision-making.
Religion, philosophy, education, and culture could see new debates about life and human existence. Contact with the unknown might also produce fear, hope, speculation, misinformation, and a wide range of social reactions.
Alongside scientific verification, society therefore needs the capacity to receive information calmly, respect differing views, and sustain constructive dialogue.
Preparing for contact with the unknown does not necessarily mean waiting for someone or something to arrive from space. It also means acknowledging the limits of human knowledge and considering how we approach beings and values different from our own.
Governance in the Space Age: Responsibilities Beyond Borders
As space development advances, the use of outer space is no longer confined to a small number of nations.
Government agencies, private companies, research institutions, and international organizations now all participate in space-related activities.
Satellite communications, Earth observation, exploration, and the expansion of commercial space activity increasingly shape life and economies on Earth.
At the same time, new governance challenges are emerging: the safe and sustainable use of space, space resources, environmental protection, military applications, and international rulemaking.
Questions surrounding UAP and unknown intelligence raise an important issue within this broader discussion of space governance.
Will humanity carry the structures of conflict, domination, and competition developed on Earth into space? Or can we learn from history and build a more cooperative society that respects life and the environment?
The idea of cosmic civilization does not necessarily presuppose the existence of an extraterrestrial civilization.
Humanity’s own expansion into space—and its effort to consider society and civilization from a perspective beyond our planet—can itself represent an important step toward a cosmic civilization. That requires reflection not only on technological progress, but also on ethics, international cooperation, institutions, and human values.
Can Human Consciousness Evolve for the Space Age?
Humanity has made extraordinary advances in science and technology. We have sent spacecraft into the cosmos, established instantaneous communication across the planet, and developed artificial intelligence capable of processing enormous quantities of information.
Yet technological progress and the maturity of human society are not necessarily the same thing. We continue to face international conflict, economic inequality, discrimination, environmental destruction, and the manipulation of information.
Even a technologically sophisticated society may generate new conflicts and inequalities if it lacks the ethical judgment to decide how its tools should be used. Thinking about unknown intelligence therefore invites us to examine our own intelligence and maturity.
Before seeking to understand beings different from ourselves, can we respect differences among people living on the same planet? Can we act with consideration for others, future generations, and the many forms of life on Earth—not solely for our own interests?
Preparing for the space age is not simply a matter of building spacecraft or advanced technologies. It also requires us to ask what values humanity will embrace, what kind of society we will build, and what kind of beings we wish to be as we engage with the universe.
Facing those questions is itself an essential part of preparation.
Ryoko Kuwata’s Perspective: What Each of Us Can Do Before Entering a Cosmic Civilization
I would now like to share my personal reflections, shaped by attending the international conference in Italy and by my exchanges over the years with researchers, experts, and policymakers from around the world.
Discussions of UAP disclosure often focus on what governments know, what information they possess, and when the truth will be revealed. Transparency, scientific verification, and government accountability are, of course, essential. But what interests me even more is how prepared we humans are to face unknown beings and the possibility of a cosmic civilization.
If NHI were confirmed in the future, and humanity entered an era in which it had to consider relations with an unfamiliar intelligence, would we be psychologically, culturally, and socially ready to accept its existence? How well do we even understand our own place in the universe?
In the immensity of the cosmos, Earth is only one planet. Yet here, we distinguish ourselves from others by nationality, ethnicity, religion, social position, wealth, and titles—sometimes ranking people and perpetuating conflict.
Differences in culture and individuality are not the problem. The problem begins when we use those differences to justify domination, discrimination, or conflict.
I believe that preparing humanity for a cosmic civilization cannot be left to governments and research institutions alone. It begins with a change in each individual’s consciousness. This does not mean acquiring extraordinary abilities or blindly believing claims about unknown beings.
What matters is looking inward and questioning the values and ways of living we have long taken for granted.
Living only to gain someone else’s approval.
Measuring human worth through titles, wealth, or social recognition.
Seeking to control others out of fear or competitiveness.
Sacrificing another person’s dignity or freedom for personal gain.
Continuing to follow social conventions and other people’s expectations while turning away from our own will and conscience.
And remaining indifferent while participating in systems we ourselves believe are wrong.
I believe the society of the future calls on each of us to examine these outdated attitudes and behaviors and let go of what no longer serves us.
I see this broader transformation—including disclosure—as an awakening of individual consciousness.
Awakening is not about being handed a special truth by someone else. It is about thinking independently, trusting our own discernment, taking responsibility for our actions, and deciding for ourselves what we choose, what we participate in, and what we leave to the future.
It is also a shift away from the idea that our own happiness is all that matters, toward a way of life that recognizes our connection with other people, society, nature, and the planet as a whole.
If humanity is ever to enter into dialogue with an unknown intelligence, I believe we must first create a society in which people sharing this planet can respect and understand one another.
Preparing to welcome the unknown is not about debating whether something will arrive from elsewhere—or simply waiting for it. It is about choosing, here and now, what kind of people we wish to be on Earth and what kind of civilization we wish to create.
Rather than waiting for nations or governments to change, each of us can release unnecessary constraints in our daily lives and stop supporting values and systems that pull us away from what truly matters.
We can honor our time, live by our own choices, respect others, seek harmony with life and nature, and use our abilities and creativity to build a more beautiful society.
Together, these choices may transform society’s values and eventually give shape to a new civilization.
We still know very little about the unknown intelligence that may exist in the universe. But we can decide what kind of future we want to create, and we can begin changing how we live today.
Preparing for a cosmic civilization is not an event in the distant future. It begins when each of us awakens to our authentic self, releases old patterns of conflict and separation, and helps create a new society within the shared community of life that is Earth.
I believe it is along this path that humanity may find a future of deeper harmony with the universe and open new possibilities for civilization.
Related Resources
NASA — Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Independent Study (2023)
The Sol Foundation — Peter Skafish
The Sol Foundation — The Science and Politics of Non-Human Intelligence (2024)
SPACE FRONTIER — UAP & JAPAN #01
Editorial note: This article is based on reporting from the Lucca conference and publicly available materials. It distinguishes scientifically established findings from hypotheses concerning UAP and NHI. The final section, “Ryoko Kuwata’s Perspective,” expresses the author’s personal reflections and does not represent the official views of conference participants or research institutions.
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