Will alien life be post-biological ?

[Saru]

Several leading astronomers believe that the first aliens we encounter will likely be robotic in nature.

ET machines would be infinitely more intelligent and durable than the biological intelligence that created them. Intelligent machines would be immortal, and would not need to exist in the carbon-friendly “Goldilocks Zones” current SETI searches focus on.

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[Jacques Terreur]

sounds totally plausible. I mean, this is like WE do it as well with our deep space probes and satellites. I know when it comes to speculating about ET, one shouldn't necessarily put the measuring standards in humanity, but to me this sounds way more likely than encountering little green men in flying saucers out there.....

[Timothy]

Whether it's intentional or not is a different story. Eg. A Terminator or Oblivion type scenario.

[Hartmut]

Obviously he is correct. We already have lots of implants in our bodies. Like everything else, whatever we, or any alien invent will have its positive or negative sides. The real question is: Which side will be the dominate factor.

[Aggie]

Even if we become part cyborgs, humans will always be. Robots have no goals and aspirations, only tasks to perform that are dictated by humans.....unless human consciousness could be 'transplanted' to an AI...could that be possible?

Artificial intelligence is needed for space travel and for other jobs that need a 'non perishable' body.... but I don't think our biological self will ever cease to exist.

[Jacques Terreur]

Obviously he is correct. We already have lots of implants in our bodies. Like everything else, whatever we, or any alien invent will have its positive or negative sides. The real question is: Which side will be the dominate factor.

this is not so much a question of "good or bad", but of practicability in my opinion. If there really shoud be intelligent life out there, and IF they were to be anything like ourselves, wouldn't it be just way easier to just send out exploratory probes (maybe even with an ability to self-sustain) instead of having to solve problems like sustaining a living creature in deep space travel? we send unmanned probes to Pluto, Rovers to Mars and (hopefully) at some point cool little submarines to Europa for exactly the same reason...

[Sundew]

Our primitive robotic machines have already gone far beyond where humans have traveled as far as outer space is concerned. The economics alone make it much simpler to send robots: no air, no food, no breakdown of mind or body on long journeys, smaller capacity ships using less fuel, and they are expendable meaning no return trip unless you are collecting samples. The drawback of course is that they cannot think, they are only programable and to the extent they have been programed, that limits the boundaries of the their usefulness in exploration. But it stands to reason that any advanced technological civilization would send machines first, this is hardly news.

[+DieChecker]

From the OP link:

"I think it very likely – in fact inevitable – that biological intelligence is only a transitory phenomenon

That is assuming that intellegence is limited to tool using creature. Some would argue that whales are very intellegent, and yet the prospect for them using tools or becoming cyborg is very dim.

For tool using creatures, baring some kind of religious/social/ethical taboo on such, cyborging of the species is probably inevitable.

[welshmarvel]

Makes some sense to me. We have a history of enslaving anything and everything or even destroying everything that is different to us, so it would make sense for any alien to first send robots

[deslin]

It makes enough sense. Even though they've been told what to do from operators back here on Earth, machines have been our first explorers on Mars for example. Would alien explorers be hiding out on the moon of another planet in the form of metals planning our doom with complete sentient thought? I'm not so sure, but I could believe robots of some sort with the capability to manage its own tasks and make basic decisions of what to explore based on what it finds. That being said, I'd love a chance to meet a real life Wall-E lol

[minera]

Scientist tend to compare alien actions in human terms. We sent men to the moon not robots like Discovery etc. An actual probe could and would have gathered more information without risking human life.

[MyInnerShadow]

I think some ET life could be post-biological, but then, is it really life? I guess that depends on the level of sentience and free-will that the entities possess. If you look at how many implants we are developing, in a few milenia we could become a race of cyborgs ourselves.

Edited July 29, 2013 by MyInnerShadow

[Ugly1]

I'm just curious. If we are to upload our thoughts and emotions into a machine, what would be of our body? Would I still be in my body, and watch the machine wake up and look at me and start talking to me about past memories? Do I start seeing through two separate sets of eyes? Would we be connected like a puppet and puppeteer to where we behave similar to quarks that are connected instantly over great distances? I am curious to see the first person to have a brain transplanted over from their body into a machine to see if they do bring their past with them.

This procedure requires a boatload of trust! If a business has the means to transplant your brain into a mechanical body then I would assume them to have the technology to implant memories.

[Parsec]

Like many wrote, it's a very probable possibility, although it's not said.

Problem is, usually we base our speculations on us, but we don't know how an alien civilization could evolve, nor how their technology could evolve. They could take a different path, for instance instead of focusing on matter, they could focus on energy, finding a more efficient way to do things.

Who knows, maybe they could develope an "energy based" technology, and evolve in a "pure energy" state of being. Or simply, only for space travel, they could use an "energetic ship", charged with their astronauts consciousnesses. So no need to move matter, only energy. It could be cheaper to send, to maintain and to manage. No body (biological or mechanical), no decay.

I think it's as probable as the other possibility.

[Parsec]

I'm just curious. If we are to upload our thoughts and emotions into a machine, what would be of our body? Would I still be in my body, and watch the machine wake up and look at me and start talking to me about past memories? Do I start seeing through two separate sets of eyes? Would we be connected like a puppet and puppeteer to where we behave similar to quarks that are connected instantly over great distances? I am curious to see the first person to have a brain transplanted over from their body into a machine to see if they do bring their past with them.

This procedure requires a boatload of trust! If a business has the means to transplant your brain into a mechanical body then I would assume them to have the technology to implant memories.

Welcome to Motoko Kusanagi (or Alita)'s world!

Anyway, I think it depends on the technology you would use.

If you just upload a copy of your mental scheme, it would be like a double. So you should still be you, and your robotic self a robotic copy, acting on its own. Like a clone, but mechanic.

If you'd project your thoughts in the machine, it would be like you wrote "a puppet with a puppeteer" (like Bruce Willis's "Surrogates").

If instead you'd upload your consciousness, your real self, I think it would be like a body transfer, so you'd become the machine, and your biologic body an empty shell.

Well, since for now this is all sci-fi, I think that all the possibilities and the answers are correct

[Ugly1]

Welcome to Motoko Kusanagi (or Alita)'s world!

Anyway, I think it depends on the technology you would use.

If you just upload a copy of your mental scheme, it would be like a double. So you should still be you, and your robotic self a robotic copy, acting on its own. Like a clone, but mechanic.

If you'd project your thoughts in the machine, it would be like you wrote "a puppet with a puppeteer" (like Bruce Willis's "Surrogates").

If instead you'd upload your consciousness, your real self, I think it would be like a body transfer, so you'd become the machine, and your biologic body an empty shell.

Well, since for now this is all sci-fi, I think that all the possibilities and the answers are correct

Thinking back on the movie surrogates of how they made the population of non robots seem completely destroyed in the sense of physical wellness. I think it would be a major problem for live thought projection into a machine to make it complete tasks. There would be no point in having a surrogate do tasks for you full time as you would become frail, possibly obese, bed sores and any other long list of problems from lack of mobility. However for temporary assistance I do think that a surrogate system could be very beneficial. Imagine people in high impact jobs such as a construction worker or professional wrestler could simply send their mechanical body double in to absorb the wear and tear of the job.

Now that I've actually thought about this it does not sound far fetched at all for me to imagine that companies will be providing this in the future to some of their workers, for a cost of course. They can promote these machines as making an extremely dangerous job about as dangerous as watching T.V. while still giving the employee the "choice" in using or not using the machine. Keep in mind these will cost you money to operate (Deduct from you pay). Now that employee that chooses not to use the machine will be faced with the problem that they will not be able to keep up with the pace that the person that chooses to use the machine will be going. Now if you have a job where you are shoveling, climbing, lifting, etc and you are required to take a break every 15 minutes or so to rest, while there is someone else who could do the job without taking breaks for the entire 10 hour shift. I think you would be worried about job security. Due to this alone although you had a "Choice" to use the machine or not, there would never really be a choice in the matter. This would be a great way to make further profits off of your workforce while making your job safety record impeccable as far as job site injuries.

I feel like I am pitching a million dollar idea to an investor or helping a board of directors determine the best way to further expand profit making from their workforce. I'm available for hire. PM me.

On another note. WTH am I talking about?

[ambelamba]

Now I wonder if those aliens can turn into a Peterbilt 18-wheeler or a Chevy Camaro....

[kapow53]

No doubt about it

[DONTEATUS]

Thermo Boost On ! THey Will Freeze us ,slice us Dice us And Dine on us ! It Could Happen !

Nah ! Were full of really bad taste !

[ambelamba]

I honestly don't care if they are either organic or mechanical. What I care about is their attitude on us and other creatures of the Earth. I have no problem with greeting real life Autobots.

[brainiac]

Of course what we are seeing on the sky are alien probes an alien drones.

[shrooma]

Of course what we are seeing on the sky are alien probes an alien drones.

.

or misidentified natural phenomena, terrestrial aircraft, chinese lanterns etc.

[gOOgLer]

"If we ever encounter extraterrestrial intelligence, I believe it is overwhelmingly likely to be post-biological in nature."

Perhaps the same post/non-biological intelligence exists on Earth today. Perhaps non biological intelligence is older than biological one,...

[shrooma]

What I care about is their attitude on us and other creatures of the Earth. I have no problem with greeting real life Autobots.

.

but the flipside of that coin Ron, is of course, The Decepticons.....

[darkwhiz]

From the point of view people 50 years ago thinks that our live is that of a Sci-fi Book.

But From our point of view people 50 ahead of our time is that of a sci-fi movies.

Alien may just be a point of view from the future, Some planet travels at different time

than ours.