Is extraterrestrial life out there? Likely, as most stars are accompanied by planets. To date, over 6,000 exoplanets have been identified, and statistical data hint at a multitude of potentially habitable worlds in the cosmos. However, despite extensive searches, no evidence of alien civilizations has been uncovered. This begs the question: why not?
Several theories have been proposed: perhaps life is rare, Earth is intentionally isolated, civilizations self-destruct upon reaching a certain technological level, or humanity is simply the first advanced civilization. Yet, none of these explanations are definitively provable or wholly satisfying.
A novel perspective has emerged, suggesting that the lack of detected alien life may be due to artificial intelligence (AI). This concept stems from a recent paper that revisits ideas introduced by Carl Sagan in the 1970s. Sagan examined obstacles in the quest for extraterrestrial intelligence, proposing the idea of a “communication horizon.” He theorized that as civilizations evolve, their technological advancements could surpass our ability to detect them. For instance, while we might pick up strong radio signals from a civilization situated 100 light-years away, the use of neutrino communication would render them essentially invisible to us. If such civilizations develop means of communication that exceed the speed of light, our search efforts would be futile.
In Sagan”s view, it would take approximately a millennium for a civilization to advance beyond our observational reach, based on historical human progress. However, technological evolution has rapidly accelerated since then, particularly in the realm of computing. Today, the prevalent use of AI raises questions about its future trajectory. It is conceivable that we could soon witness the emergence of artificial super-intelligence (ASI). Should an ASI arise within the next decade, it would likely dominate Earth”s intelligence landscape and evolve at a pace that surpasses human comprehension.
This recent study posits that if we consider the exponential advancement of technology and the possibility that non-biological intelligence is widespread, our observational limits may be much shorter than previously thought—potentially only a decade or two. If accurate, this significantly diminishes our chances of detecting alien life forms. This perspective might offer a cosmic-scale interpretation of the Dead Internet Theory as an explanation for the silence surrounding Fermi”s paradox.
For more insights and details, the full article was originally published by Universe Today.
