The Unlikely Scenario of Wiping Out Alien Civilizations

When we contemplate the idea of encountering an advanced extraterrestrial civilization, the question often arises: If we discovered aliens and landed on their planet, and determined to possess superior technology, how likely is it that we would wipe them out?

The True Ruler: Bacteria

Remarkably, the answer points not towards a civilization bent on annihilation. Instead, it suggests that the true rulers of their planet are significantly less complex than we might imagine. Bacteria, the most fundamental life forms on Earth, serve as a reminder that even the simplest organisms have their own dominion and capabilities that could surpass our current understanding.

Interstellar Travel is Within Reach

Our assumption that interstellar travel requires godlike technology is a common misconception. In the 20-page short story, The Road Not Traveled by Harry Turtledove, it is postulated that such a journey could indeed be undertaken using existing technologies. While it would require a vast amount of resources and time, the capabilities necessary to build and launch such a mission are far from unimaginable.

Technology and Its Limitations

Technology, at its core, is a series of tools and knowledge that enable us to harness energy and materials to solve specific problems. Just because a civilization can build a nuclear weapon does not mean they have the necessary knowledge to build the internet. Similarly, knowing how to build the internet does not guarantee they can construct the infrastructure required for advanced warfare. These are unrelated domains, and developments in one do not automatically lead to advancements in another.

What We Can Be Certain About Their Technology

If an alien species with faster-than-light (FTL) technology arrived in our orbit today, we can only be certain of a few things regarding their technology:

They possess spacecraft capable of traveling at speeds beyond the speed of light. They have the capability to navigate and operate in space. They have an energy source that enables their FTL travel.

With these basic capabilities in place, the rest of their technological advancement remains speculative. It is entirely plausible that their technology could be far less advanced in other areas. For example, their weaponry might still rely on more primitive methods, such as firearms, rather than advanced space-age weaponry.

Humanity's Future and Our Perceptions

The future of humanity might resemble a right-wing world, where we encounter other humanoid species and might seek to wipe them out, much as we are currently threatening our own existence. The philosophy of EGMi (Enhancement of Generalized Misery Index) highlights the potential for a civilization to maximize goodness in humans, ensuring a utopia where no suffering is left behind, and artificial intelligence (AI) is used to prevent destructive outcomes like beings like the Borg, which could potentially wipe out life in the universe.

However, the scenario of us wiping out an alien species with superior technology is much less likely than commonly perceived. We can only speculate about their overall capabilities based on our current understanding of technology and the vast resources required for interstellar travel. If we approach the interactions with humility and curiosity, we can learn much more about the universe and our place within it.