Risky for what? Alien invasion? If interstellar travel were that easy or worthwhile they'd be here already, especially what with terrestrial radio broadcasts.
If your argument is that terrestrial radio broadcasts mean we don't need the laser... then why do we need the laser?
Re: interstellar invasion, perhaps not, but hard to rule out the possibility that the response we get to our broadcasts is something like a relativistic projectile.
The universe is a big place and we are a tiny planet. It's very likely we could remain unseen even in a highly active interstellar community. Announcing our presence could have consequences, or not.