Since the beginning of time, humans have speculated about an extraterrestrial species. Attempts to contact these so-called “aliens” date back to more than 150 years. In the vast expanse of our universe and the billions of planets it possesses, it only makes sense that there has to be someone else out there besides us. And wouldn’t it be incredible if aliens did truly exist? No. It wouldn’t, and here’s why.

The Great Filter

The great filter is a challenge so impossible to overcome that that it eliminates almost all species that encounter it. This filter could be anything. Nuclear bombs, nanotechnology, asteroids, dangerous technology, you name it. If it can destroy the human race, it could be the great filter. So why does this matter? If there is a great filter, there are two options, one of which is considerably less dreary. The great filter is either behind us or in front of us. If it’s behind us, that’s good. It means that we’ve already surpassed this near impossible challenge. One idea is that the chances of life arising from dead things is astonishingly difficult in the first place. The very factor of life could be our great filter. It’s hard to know what step we took that no other species was able to take, but if this filter is behind us, then we are lucky.

The Great Filter is Ahead of Us

If the great filter is ahead of us, to put it delicately, the human race is doomed. There is something out there that we haven’t encountered yet. This “something” is so dangerous that it has killed all other galactic civilizations before us. Superbugs, genetic engineering, AI that turns against us. An event that we cannot see coming. These are all reasonable choices. But we can simplify it even further. A daunting scenario is that a species intelligent enough to control and harvest resources from its planet (aka us) ultimately destroys it and themselves in the process. We could be our own great filter.

Why it’s Better for Us if Aliens didn’t Exist

The more aliens out there, the more intelligent and complex they are, the more chances we have that the great filter is ahead of us. So perhaps it’s best that we haven’t found any signs of life yet. It can be scary to think that our tiny planet is the only place with life out there. To believe that the universe is only harboring dead planets and void oceans. But this isn’t as bad you’re thinking. The more empty planets, the more places we have to explore and fill up with life of our own. The more chances we have at making sure our race outlasts the race against time.