One may ask the question that if aliens visited Earth, who should speak to them on behalf of Humanity ?
Here goes an alternative reasoning to common ground that promotes artists as best interlocutors, why ?
Scientists may be bound to their rational view of the Universe and may not be able to escape their formatting. That is to say that if you show a quantum computer to a cave man, he will not get anything of it for he cannot apprehend millennia of mathematics nor computing nor electronic and micro-electronics and so on. As in this context, aliens came to Earth, their technology may surely fall in this gap-description for Earth's scientists.
Military by its side, may be interested — as well as politicians — in the geopolitical games for image, power and indeed alien technology in their reach for supremacy. In this context, dual games may appear to both ensure an alien technology captation, a supremacy on their human rivals and a study of the encounter in a will to win future potential conflicts against aliens... A cave man acting in front of fire, a non-sense for above (see this and that).
On the other hand, artists may more easily grab the irrationality born from the immense gap between humans and aliens. They could transduce what they see and comprehend into art — why not, for a further pollination in the realm of ideas ?
Special note about Artificial Intelligences : This may also be a solution to speak on behalf of the human community as this can be used to synthesize and summarize all the points of view.
If they came to Earth, what language should be used ?
Would you give them an English dictionary and piss them off for non-grasping social justice and genre theory ? This is a non-sense.
I tell you, whether you believe it or not, a Universal language is through sensations. Kisses are better than butt kicks. See you then.
#Key:Starred