[ExI] Why Alien Life Will Be Robotic

[BillK]

Article in Nautilus By Martin Rees
(a British cosmologist and astrophysicist. He is also the Astronomer Royal).

<http://nautil.us/issue/29/scaling/why-alien-life-will-be-robotic>

Quote:
Perhaps the galaxy already teems with advanced life, and our
descendants will “plug in” to a galactic community—as rather “junior
members.” On the other hand, Earth’s intricate biosphere may be unique
and the searches may fail. This would disappoint the searchers. But it
would have an upside. Humans could then be less cosmically modest. Our
tiny planet—this pale blue dot floating in space—could be the most
important place in the entire cosmos.

We would then be of especially great cosmic significance, for being
the transient precursor to the deeper cogitations of another
culture—one dominated by machines, extending deep into the future and
spreading far beyond Earth.
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I agree with the theme of this speculation, with the proviso that
humanity lasts long enough to develop advanced AI. Assuming no
existential disasters, the other option is that enough of humanity
disappears into a self-indulgent virtual reality paradise that AI
never gets built.


BillK