If certain science fiction is to believed, there is a pan-dimensional super-intelligence that feeds on all sentience once they cross a certain technological level, so it's all futile anyway.
In my opinion it's much more likely that sentient beings apathy themselves into extinction.
Humans already show a tendency towards addiction to technology that exploits dopamine triggers, as social networks like Facebook do.
Now imagine a world in which matrix style neural implants give you all the dopamine fulfillment that you want with no need for any effort. And combine this neural implant replacement for reality with extensive automation and AI that replaces the need for physical and mental effort. With an ever decreasing amount of stuff to do in the real world more people start hooking up to the matrix.
It's quite likely a massive portion of the population will dream itself to death without accomplishing anything or giving birth to a new generation of offspring because work, invention, and sex in the real world could never compete with the feeling of something that is tied directly into your brain making you feel like you just solved the world's hardest scientific problem, or ate the best meal ever, or had the best sex ever.
It seems probable that such neural implant tech and automation could be created long before a practical interstellar travel solution is created, which would also be a depressing, but realistic explanation for the Fermi paradox.
I was just explaining why whoever came up with that schene shouldve got an award or something. Particularly due to fact that they use pre-mastered tech, geography, and transport they control to force evolution to develop in a way that poses littke risk to them. Might actually work.
vkou|10 years ago
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holocene_extinction
Chronic51|10 years ago
Retra|10 years ago
Razengan|10 years ago
NathanKP|10 years ago
Humans already show a tendency towards addiction to technology that exploits dopamine triggers, as social networks like Facebook do.
Now imagine a world in which matrix style neural implants give you all the dopamine fulfillment that you want with no need for any effort. And combine this neural implant replacement for reality with extensive automation and AI that replaces the need for physical and mental effort. With an ever decreasing amount of stuff to do in the real world more people start hooking up to the matrix.
It's quite likely a massive portion of the population will dream itself to death without accomplishing anything or giving birth to a new generation of offspring because work, invention, and sex in the real world could never compete with the feeling of something that is tied directly into your brain making you feel like you just solved the world's hardest scientific problem, or ate the best meal ever, or had the best sex ever.
It seems probable that such neural implant tech and automation could be created long before a practical interstellar travel solution is created, which would also be a depressing, but realistic explanation for the Fermi paradox.
nickpsecurity|10 years ago
koenigdavidmj|10 years ago
jmount|10 years ago
jhwhite|10 years ago
Within the next ~100-200 years?
Panoramix|10 years ago