Boston, MA., September 18, 2017 – By Ariel Conn, Future of Life Institute, Stanislav Petrov

September 23, 1983: Soviet Union Detects Incoming Missiles

A Soviet early warning satellite showed that the United States had launched five land-based missiles at the Soviet Union. The alert came at a time of high tension between the two countries, due in part to the U.S. military buildup in the early 1980s and President Ronald Reagan’s anti-Soviet rhetoric. In addition, earlier in the month the Soviet Union shot down a Korean Airlines passenger plane that strayed into its airspace, killing almost 300 people. Stanislav Petrov, the Soviet officer on duty, had only minutes to decide whether or not the satellite data were a false alarm. Since the satellite was found to be operating properly, following procedures would have led him to report an incoming attack. Going partly on gut instinct and believing the United States was unlikely to fire only five missiles, he told his commanders that it was a false alarm before he knew that to be true. Later investigations revealed that reflection of the sun on the tops of clouds had fooled the satellite into thinking it was detecting missile launches (Accidental Nuclear War: a Timeline of Close Calls).

Petrov is widely credited for having saved millions if not billions of people with his decision to ignore satellite reports, preventing accidental escalation into what could have become a full-scale nuclear war. This event was turned into the movie “The Man Who Saved the World,” and Petrov was honored at the United Nations and given the World Citizen Award.

All of us at FLI were saddened to learn that Stanislav Petrov passed away this past May. News of his death was announced this weekend. Petrov was to be honored during the release of a new documentary, also called The Man Who Saved the World, in February of 2018. Stephen Mao, who is an executive producer of this documentary, told FLI that though they had originally planned to honor Petrov in person at February’s Russian theatrical premier, “this will now be an event where we will eulogize and remember Stanislav for his contribution to the world.”

Jakob Staberg, the movie’s producer, said:

“Stanislav saved the world but lost everything and was left alone. Taking part in our film, The Man Who Saved the World, his name and story came out to the whole world. Hopefully the actions of Stanislav will inspire other people to take a stand for good and not to forget that the nuclear threat is still very real. I will remember Stanislav’s own humble words about his actions: ‘I just was at the right place at the right time’. Yes, you were Stanislav. And even though you probably would argue that I am wrong, I am happy it was YOU who was there in that moment. Not many people would have the courage to do what you did. Thank you.”

You can read more about Petrov’s life and heroic actions in the New York Times obituary.

The original of this article by Ariel Conn from The Future of Life Institute can be found here:

https://futureoflife.org/2017/09/18/stanislav-petrov-man-saved-world-died/

The Future of Life Institute

The Future of Life Institute (FLI) is a volunteer-run research and outreach organization in the Boston area that works to mitigate existential risks facing humanity, particularly existential risk from advanced artificial intelligence(AI). Its founders include MIT cosmologist Max Tegmark, Skype co-founder Jaan Tallinn, and its board of advisors includes cosmologist Stephen Hawking and entrepreneur Elon Musk.

The FLI mission is to catalyze and support research and initiatives for safeguarding life and developing optimistic visions of the future, including positive ways for humanity to steer its own course considering new technologies and challenges.  FLI is particularly focused on the potential risks to humanity from the development of human-level artificial intelligence.

The institute’s advisory board includes computer scientist Stuart J. Russell, biologist George Church, cosmologists Stephen Hawking and Saul Perlmutter, theoretical physicist Frank Wilczek, entrepreneur Elon Musk, and actors and science communicators Alan Alda and Morgan Freeman.  FLI operates grassroots-style to recruit volunteers and younger scholars from the local community in the Boston area.

Future of Life Institute website: https://futureoflife.org/

Contacts at Future of Life Institute:

  • Max Tegmark: max@futureoflife.org
  • Meia Chita-Tegmark: meia@futureoflife.org
  • Jaan Tallinn: jaan@futureoflife.org
  • Anthony Aguirre: anthony@futureoflife.org
  • Viktoriya Krakovna: vika@futureoflife.org

About Studio Mao

Studio Mao is a premiere global content management company founded in 2006 with a strong focus on motion picture production, development and distribution. The company produces feature films, including the critically-acclaimed award-winning film Filth by the author of Trainspotting Irvine Welsh in which James McAvoy won Best Actor awards at the Scottish BAFTA’s, British Independent Film Awards, Empire Awards and London Critics Circle Film Awards. The film’s director Jon S. Baird also won the London Critics Circle Breakthrough British Filmmaker award and the film was nominated on multiple occasions for Best Feature Film. Filth was the highest grossing independent film in England in 2013 and was produced with Maven Pictures and Steel Mill Pictures. Studio Mao also collaborated with Maven Pictures on Wilding (Bel Powley, Liv Tyler), American Honey (Shia La Beouf, Riley Keoug, Sasha Lane), Freak Show (Alex Lawther, AnnaSophia Robb, Abigail Breslin, Laverne Cox, Bette Midler), Girl Most Likely (Kristen Wiig, Darren Criss), Ten Thousand Saints (Ethan Hawke, Hailee Steinfeld, Asa Butterfield). Studio Mao is responsible for arranging distribution of the docudrama The Man Who Saved the World (Stanislav Petrov, Kevin Costner, Sergey Shnyryov, Nataliya Vdovina) in Russia/CIS on theatrical and digital platforms.

Films have premiered at major festivals including the Cannes Film Festival, the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), and the Sundance Film festival. Films have been sold at festival to major distributors for worldwide theatrical release.

The Studio Mao brand is synonymous with high quality, original and bold content that is distributed to markets around the world. The company is actively involved in developing its proprietary HD content management and video streaming platform “STP™” designed to securely deliver content worldwide and on multiple platforms. Subscribers will be able to view Studio Mao movie releases and content utilizing STP™ technology that will further permit an interactive experience with dynamic and live HD feeds.

The company’s open source mantra is “Leave no creative stone unturned”.

For more information about Studio Mao, please visit www.studiomao.com

Contact:

Steve Kent
asst@studiomao.com
(212) 961-6882