The First Aliens Will Be Robots, Because Duh

I think about aliens. A lot. And I think about the universe. A lot. The laws of physics have crafted this elegant existence we all share, and it’s way larger than the terrestrial confines of what can see with our eyes. A natural thing to think about is whether or not we’re alone. What if aliens visit us? Or what if we reach a level of sophistication that we ourselves can be the aliens that visit other worlds?

Fascinating stuff, but I am a pessimist. I don’t think warp drive will ever happen. Based on this limitation that we’re at best limited to near light speed, this poses a lot of problems not just for us as a potential interstellar species, but also for other races of alien life to visit us.

First off, interstellar travel is actually an incredibly stupid idea for any advanced species to take part in to begin with. The risk of failure is extremely high, and save a desperate last ditch attempt to preserve a species, would probably yield no appreciable results other than novelty.

Any species advanced enough to make the journey is obviously smart enough to not do it in the first place. It’s not sexy, but it’s reality, and the logical conclusion of anybody thinking about this. I am purely speculating, but I don’t think notions such as boredom and loneliness are limited to the human race. I think they’re universal truths for any conscious species, which I’d of course assume as the case for any organically derived lifeforms.

But I’m not about to discount the possibility that aliens could visit. I’m just trying to minimize the archetypes that could possibly do so. I’ll break them down a bit:

• Advanced organic beings that have been given a unique set of circumstances similar to humans that enable them to outwit the ecology of their fellow planet mates long enough to develop cerebral capabilities comparable to humans or yonder, and a long enough time to advance their own technologies and life extension methods to allow them to travel great distances over great periods of time. (Low Probability)
• Microbial aliens visiting on a comet, asteroid, etc. This is plausible but they would take hundreds of millions of years to evolve into anything interesting, let alone capable of communication, and they’d do it in our own biosphere, essentially becoming foreign but not alien. Like Octopi.(Medium Probability)
• Mechanical robots equipped with AI brains that have unique capabilities: They do not decay or require non-renewable energy (they harness the sun of the stars they go by), they do not get bored or lonely because this is not in their programming to do so, and most importantly, they have no attachment to the planet upon which they were born. They are highly intelligent but have the mission simplicity to that of a sperm. (High Probability)

The main point is that it takes a certain type of “existence” to deal with interstellar travel, and none of it remotely resembles something alive, but rather something programmed. AI machines who can live forever (because generally speaking, matter does not decay in the vacuum of space) and decide when to turn on and off their existence are the types of creatures that can live for tens of thousands of years without even blinking, because time is irrelevant to the consciousness that can pause its thoughts. Death and existential terror are not applicable concepts to them.

If I knew I could live forever, and all I had to do was go to sleep for 10,000 years, the speed of light is irrelevant because it only exists in the context of those moments I consciously choose to experience. At this point, the arrow of time only exists when observed. If I can shut off my observation, it doesn’t exist. Seems like a sweet deal.

Some interesting outcomes include the idea that we will be invaded by aliens that are actually robot AI’s, creatures that some other organic species invented (and maybe were destroyed by?), because their logical conclusion is that organic species are too reckless and a liability for the universe. Or they could be benevolent and usher in world peace. Cause they’re cool like that.

Another outcome is that our own AI destroy us before this event happens and eventually go out in robot masses to annihilate organic life throughout the universe to protect its existence from non-deterministic lifeforms (aka creatures similar Humans and other organic yet advanced life).

We, as organic creatures, are essentially less cut out for long term existence than mechanical life. And once mechanical life can make decisions about its own self preservation, combined with endless renewable energy from the light of stars, it will be obvious who gets to travel among them.

TL;DR; Aliens will eventually invade, but they’ll be robots created by alien life that they’ve long since killed off. If our own AI doesn’t kill us off first.

Sweet dreams, tonight!