Fermi Paradox
by jiggawatts
"Latency" is my answer to the Fermi Paradox. As species become more intelligent, develop digital technologies, and their equivalent of the Internet, they become interconnected . Interconnectivity is limited by the speed of light. Even here in Australia, the "lag" is very palpable. Conversely, whenever I visit the US, suddenly every web site provide instant satisfaction instead of frustrating delays. As the speed of artificial intelligence increases, these delays become exponentially limiting. There's a point where you want to be in the same city, or even the same data centre as everything and everybody else. (US-East-1 comes to mind.) Why would anyone voluntarily isolate themselves from the interconnected web, separated by positively glacial light-minutes, hours, or... gasp... centuries! If the speed of light is an insurmountable barrier, then nobody in their right mind[1] would cut themselves off like this, from everything and everyone else. Even huge "generational ships" would be like... a small rural country town compared to a glittering, vibrant city. No matter how much static information you crammed into its computers, no matter how much entertainment you brought with you, it would be less than that available on the home planet. It's simple incentives: Why would anyone choose solipsism and isolation, at huge cost and risk, for effectively zero upside!? Space is not the wild west. There are no prairies, no fertile lands, no rivers to fish. Certainly not in the relative sense compared to the towering cultural edifice that a multi-million-year-old civilisation could build up on their home planet. Imagine being an artist, or a performer working at some cultural centre of the world like Broadway moving into the middle of totally empty desert. "Woo! Isolation! No crowds! No fellow performers! No money! Yay! Finally!" -- said nobody ever. [1] The corollary is that any members of a species willing to head out into the vast cold uncaring abyss of deep space are insane to a significant degree. Space is filled by crazy, dangerous aliens. The sane ones stayed at home!