A recent video from the YouTube channel Cool Worlds titled “The Fermi Paradox Has An Incredibly Simple Solution” is a fun review of the Fermi Paradox, which asks “Where are they?” in reference to alien visitors. The video goes into the meaning of the question as well as possible interpretations of the paradox itself.
Professor David Kipping from the Department of Astronomy at Columbia University does a nice job of explaining some of the “answers” to the so-called paradox, and even introduces one of his own called the “Weak Anthropic Principle.” I do not want to spoil the story, so I recommend you view the short video on your own. It is enlightening.
The scariest bit of the presentation involves “self-replicating universal constructors” that could colonize the galaxy with present-day rocket technology. Moreover, such constructors may be in development by businesses today with programs such as ChatGPT, as warned by many parties today. Under this scenario, the colonization of our galaxy would start in a Microsoft or Google lab, with humans playing no part in that eventual future because we will not be needed.
Sweet dreams as you ponder that.
Check out the Cool Worlds YouTube page for other fascinating videos.
Our Awesome Universe 