But don't you ever wonder why after 14 billion years and with a hundred million star systems in the Milky Way, we still haven't heard a peep from anyone out there?
The longer I live, the closer I get to concluding that sentience is an inherently unstable condition.
I don't wonder about why we haven't heard from alien civilizations because it's statistically unlikely for us to ever perceive them (putting aside the assumption that we'd recognize their form of life or language in the first place). In a continually expanding universe, the likelihood of us ever interacting with an alien species technically diminishes all the time. For all we know, there could be a stable civilization of aliens so far away it's beyond our observable universe.
I don't think it's logical to use alien species (or the lack thereof) as an instructive point about sentience in general. There's simply not enough information.
even if we could 'perceive' them... how many are stupid enough to broadcast their location... I mean what if there IS some sort of galactic predatory species that beat everyone else in the timeline? What if they're just waiting for signs of life - to squash the competition.
I think it was Carl Sagan who once said something like: it doesn't matter how 'well-meaning' an alien civilization is... it usually doesn't end well for the less advanced one... case in point: American Indians. (paraphrasing)
> But don't you ever wonder why after 14 billion years and with a hundred million star systems in the Milky Way, we still haven't heard a peep from anyone out there?
I'd say it's unlikely to be AI, just because the AI could wipe us out and then go on to eat the universe. It's not a valid Great Filter candidate.
But don't you ever wonder why after 14 billion years and with a hundred million star systems in the Milky Way, we still haven't heard a peep from anyone out there?
The longer I live, the closer I get to concluding that sentience is an inherently unstable condition.