Here is the next part of my conversation with ChatGPT, which builds on a from post a few weeks back (see The Future of AI and the Human Race). I had earlier asked ChatGPT about the possibility of AI becoming so powerful that it takes over the world. In my follow-up question, I asked “Is it possible that civilizations on other planets went down this same path developing AI and now those planets are completely under the control of that AI?”
ChatGPT agreed that AI-run exoplanets were certainly a possibility, and then went on to provide a useful list of items for astronomers and others as part of any search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI ) project, whatever its form. It says a lot about what we might look for and, on the other side of the coin, what might happen here if we cannot control our own AI.
Here is the response from ChatGPT:
Yes — it is absolutely possible, at least in theory. In fact, the idea that alien civilizations may have developed powerful AI that eventually dominated or replaced them is taken seriously by some scientists, philosophers, and SETI researchers. It’s one of several hypotheses meant to explain the Fermi Paradox — the question: “If intelligent life is common in the universe, why haven’t we seen any evidence of it?”
…if alien civilizations have been overtaken or replaced by powerful AI, we’d need to look for signs that differ from biological life. These are often called “technosignatures” — indicators of advanced technology in space.
Here are the most discussed possibilities:
🛰️
1. Megastructures
- AI civilizations might build huge structures to capture or manipulate energy.
- Most famous example: Dyson Spheres — giant constructs around a star to collect solar energy.
What we’d look for:
- Stars that dim strangely (irregular or partial light-blocking)
- Infrared excess (waste heat from large artificial structures)
🌟 Example: Tabby’s Star (KIC 8462852) sparked interest due to odd dimming — a potential (but unconfirmed) Dyson Sphere candidate.
🔥
2. Unusual Waste Heat
- AI civilizations doing massive computation would produce a lot of heat, radiating in the infrared spectrum.
- They might not glow visibly — but their waste heat might.
What we’d look for:
- Galaxies or regions with excess infrared radiation, not explained by stars or dust.
🧠
3. Matrioshka Brains
- A hypothetical structure made of nested Dyson shells built to maximize computing power around a star.
- This could be the “home” of a superintelligent AI.
What we’d look for:
- Stars that appear to be missing or emit only infrared
- Odd energy usage patterns from a star system
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4. Non-natural Radio or Laser Signals
- Traditional SETI still listens for structured, repeating, or narrow-band signals — which might come from:
- AI probes communicating
- Beacons left by extinct civilizations
- Machine intelligence that uses EM signals for local tasks
What we’d look for:
- Artificial radio pulses or bursts
- Laser flashes between stars
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5. Von Neumann Probes
- Self-replicating robots designed to explore (or consume) the galaxy.
- AI-run civilizations might send these out indefinitely.
What we’d look for:
- Objects in our solar system behaving non-gravitationally
- Anomalous interstellar visitors (e.g., ʻOumuamua sparked speculation — though nothing was confirmed)
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6. Artificial Planetary Engineering
- Planets might be reshaped, mined hollow, or covered in data-processing infrastructure.
What we’d look for:
- Planets with strange albedo patterns
- Orbital debris not matching natural formation
- Lack of biological signatures where you’d expect them
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7. Absence of Expected Life
- A galaxy teeming with AI may show less chaos than one full of competing biological species.
What we’d look for:
- An eerie quietness — stars undisturbed, systems oddly uniform, no wars or expansion
- Could mean AI civilizations are efficient, hidden, or choose not to expand
🤫
Why might we not see anything?
- They could be incredibly small and efficient
- They may avoid detection for safety (“dark forest” theory)
- Their tech may operate in physics regimes we don’t understand
- We may not know what to look for
Our Awesome Universe 