Is This the Solution to the Fermi Paradox?

Cosmology  

⯀ Alexander Berezin, a Russian physicist may have figured out why the aliens haven't visited us yet. In a proposed solution to the Fermi Paradox, he hypothesizes that once a civilization reaches the capabilities of spreading across the stars, it will inevitably wipe out all other civilizations.

There are billions of stars in the galaxy that are similar to our Sun, many of which are billions of years older than the Solar system. As we gain knowledge of extrasolar systems we are finding an increasing high probability that many, if not most of these stars have Earth-like planets, and if the Earth is typical, some must have developed intelligent life. Surely some of these smart aliens would have mastered interstellar travel by now.

But why haven't we seen any evidence of these aliens?

"What if the first life that reaches interstellar travel capability necessarily eradicates all competition to fuel its own expansion?"

The Fermi paradox, named after physicist Enrico Fermi, describes this apparent contradiction between the lack of evidence and high probability estimates for the existence of extraterrestrial civilizations in the Universe.

Now, Russian physicist Alexander Berezin, from the National Research University of Electronic Technology (MIET), may have presented a viable solution to the Fermi Paradox. The work is presented in an unreviewed paper available online.

Berezin calls his solution the “First in, last out” solution. He hypothesizes that once a civilization reaches the capabilities of spreading across the stars, it will inevitably wipe out all other civilizations.

I am not suggesting that a highly developed civilization would consciously wipe out other lifeforms. Most likely, they simply won’t notice, the same way a construction crew demolishes an anthill to build real estate because they lack incentive to protect it. And even if the individuals themselves try their best to be cautious, their von Neumann probes probably don’t.

"I argue that the Paradox has a trivial solution, requiring no controversial assumptions, which is rarely suggested or discussed," writes Berezin. "However, that solution would be hard to accept, as it
predicts a future for our own civilization that is even worse than extinction."

Berezin's “First in, last out” solution speculates that if the first life that reaches interstellar travel capability, it necessarily eradicates all competition to fuel its own expansion.

"One rogue AI can potentially populate the entire supercluster with copies of itself, turning every solar system into a supercomputer, and there is no use asking why it would do that. All that matters is that it can," writes Berezin.

If his hypothesis is true, Berezin speculates that the only explanation is the invocation of the anthropic principle.

We might be the first—and the last.

Related articles

• The Fermi Paradox - Are We The First? 
• Can Giant Telescopes Help Answer Fermi's Paradox? 
• Anders Sandberg Explores The Fermi Paradox 

For him, the important difference between this proposal and “rare Earth”- type solutions to the Fermi Paradox is that human primacy is explained by the anthropic principle alone and not through any other assumptions.

Berezin delves further, suggesting a somewhat unsettling implication concerning the predictability of life at large scales. Think unrestrained colonialism on a universal scale.

"The hypothesis above is invariant of any social, economic or moral progress a civilization might achieve. This would require the existence of forces far stronger than the free will of individuals, which are fundamentally inherent to societies, and inevitably lead it in a direction no single individual would want to pursue," he writes.

"I certainly hope I am wrong," Berezin concludes. "The only way to find out is to continue exploring the Universe and searching for alien life."

By  33rd Square