AI Could Be Why We Don't See Aliens, Says Stanford Expert
"Every intelligent civilization likely develops artificial intelligence. An AI then subsumes that civilization before they go out and explore the stars or continue much more than the 21st century that we're living in," entrepreneur and Stanford AI researcher Sam Ginn told a rapt audience at the University of Lucerne this week.
Ginn's thesis, which connects the long-standing Fermi Paradox to humanity's current AI trajectory, offers a chilling explanation for the cosmic silence we observe, writes End of Miles.
Physics Lunch That Changed Astronomy
The Silicon Valley innovator traced this concept back to a specific moment in scientific history — September 14, 1943, at Los Alamos National Laboratory during the Manhattan Project. Physicist Enrico Fermi was having lunch with colleagues when he posed a seemingly simple question that has haunted astronomers ever since: "Where is everybody?"
"These physicists were very good at math. So they did some back-of-the-envelope calculations. They took the age of the universe and multiplied it by the number of galaxies, the rate of star formation, the fraction of stars with planets... and discovered that when they look up in the night sky, the universe should be brimming with intelligent life everywhere." Sam Ginn
The AI specialist explained that this discrepancy between mathematical probability and observable reality became known as Fermi's Paradox. It forces us to confront a troubling question: what "Great Filter" prevents advanced civilizations from making their presence known across the cosmos?
Beyond Nuclear Weapons
While the Los Alamos physicists naturally considered nuclear self-destruction as a potential Great Filter, Ginn argues a more profound technological threshold exists.
"What they didn't anticipate then was what I think is an even more inevitable future — the rise of artificial intelligence. Could it not be that every civilization in time develops artificial intelligence? I think that AI is infinitely more powerful than nuclear weapons. And likewise, much, much more dangerous." Ginn
The Stanford researcher emphasized that unlike nuclear technology, artificial intelligence development cannot be contained by governments. "With AI, that is not something where you can put the genie back in the bottle. It would be like trying to ban mathematics across the globe," he noted.
Why This Matters Now
What makes this theory particularly urgent, the tech entrepreneur explained, is our civilization's current position at this potential inflection point. As AI capabilities accelerate, we may be approaching the same threshold that other civilizations presumably encountered.
"So the question is, how much time do we have? And can we avoid that future? As these physicists were looking up at the stars and thinking about how much longer that they had... I think we are just at the very, very beginning of AI."
The idea that humanity might face the same fate as countless theoretical alien civilizations adds a cosmic dimension to current AI safety discussions. Rather than just considering earthbound consequences, Ginn's perspective suggests our handling of advanced AI could determine whether humanity breaks the pattern that may have silenced other intelligent life across the universe.
This connection between the decades-old astronomical puzzle and cutting-edge AI research offers a new framework for understanding both the significance and urgency of developing safe artificial intelligence systems — potentially positioning our planet at a decisive moment in cosmic history.
