Alien Technology..

The daily Galaxy has a weekend feature titled Alien technology-- "Might be a Billion years old and not made of matter"

Thought it may enthuse a few to post a link to it here on ATS..

The author of "Alien Minds", Susan Schneider of the University of Pennsylvania, has proposed a "greater age of alien civilizations" argument that says that "if extraterrestrial civilizations are millions or billions of years older than us, many would be vastly more intelligent than we are. By our standards, many would be superintelligent. We are galactic babies." "I think it very likely – in fact, inevitable – that biological intelligence is only a transitory phenomenon… If we ever encounter extraterrestrial intelligence, I believe it is very likely to be postbiological in nature, writes Arizona State's Paul Davies in The Eerie Silence. World renowned experts from physicist Sir Martin Rees of Cambridge University to astrobiologist Davies have asked that if we were to encounter alien technology far superior to our own, would we even realize what it was. A technology a million or more years in advance of ours would appear miraculous.

www.dailygalaxy.com...

It mentions

Susan Schneider of the University of Pennsylvania appears to agree. She is one of the few thinkers—outside the realm of science fiction— that have considered the notion that artificial intelligence is already out there, and has been for eons. In a video presentation at NASA Astrobiology, Alien Minds, Schneider asks "How would intelligent aliens think? Would they have conscious experiences? Would it feel a certain way to be an alien?" Knowing that we are not alone in the universe would be a profound realization, and contact with an alien civilization could produce amazing technological innovations and cultural insights.

Below is the link to the video presentation which on my computer is a little jumpy ( Adobe Connect ). Beware if you expand to full screen you loose the slides..

ac.arc.nasa.gov...

The Social stream on the right throws up some interesting entries.



Dr. Susan Schneider, Penn Media Seminar on Neuroscience and Society.. Youtube 2009 14m



The lip Tv.. AI, Transhumanism, Merging with Superintelligence + Singularity Explained Dr Schneider 2015 35m

a reply to: skywatcher44

A technology a million or more years in advance of ours would appear miraculous.

If I were them I would make beings that couldn't see but the narrowest of spectrums, that way I could monitor and influence them a foot away and they wouldn't even know I was there.

Pssst… they are right next to you, right now.

a reply to: skywatcher44

It's certainly an interesting topic. S&F for the post.

I'd disagree that she is one of only a few. The idea has picked up steam and I think many now consider the possibility. What's the difference between single cell organisms and self-aware machines? Lots and lots of time. Something the universe has a great deal of.

a reply to: skywatcher44

Idk, about technology lasting for a million years unless it was specifically meant for that purpose, even though plastic could last that long. That would be like asking, would an empire last for a million years despite what civil matters or disasters could happen to come along? One invention leading to another or methods that would be preserved, maybe.

As for A.I, would it be post biological life forms sharing some kind of interface where it would be no different then the internet but much more interactive and just as powerful as one but not so much being one, or lifeforms that all connected to an A.I, that just ran rampant, wether hostile or passive it could be.

You know how the Quran talks about Jinn being able to have free will from God, where as Angels would have none from it. Something like that.

originally posted by: intrptr
a reply to: skywatcher44

Pssst… they are right next to you, right now.

Very interesting.

Her last part about the astronaut makes sense, you wouldn't be you. (1st vid)

Also she didn't touch on emotion with your superfast AI brain and then there is religion.

A super old civilization would have something to say about God, that, I would like to hear.

How about ethics? Just because we can, should we?

Nice thread and OP.

Evolution of intelligent life is different than for animals that primarely live "day by day".

When you live day by day you adapt slowly to different conditions until the conditions and your adaptation goes hand in hand.
Meanwhile you adapt some way of securing your genes. As seen in nature that is sometimes rather an agressive attitude.

Humans have intelligence (!?) and the agressive nature.
We adapt slowly and prefer to adapt the environment to us. Because we are smart.

Down the road some of us develop a society where we decide we don't have to kill each other. A lot of people stop doing that, and we have a working society.
Then we decide that everyone deserves a meaningful life and we start inventing wheelchairs and loads of equipment that are designed to help people in their meaningful life. We have problems defining what meaningful means, but we soldier on.
Speaking of soldiers. We also have a lot of agression in our society and as all thinking entities we want more. It's called progress. We also decide in separate groups that "we are right" and that we somehow can block a whole nation that has the notion that "they are right".
Meanwhile we take new territory because we want to.
"Now this is my land, and you are my new citizens".
"Well, but, eehh. We lived here first".
"Have you got a flag?".

The majority still think that "might is right" and they continue that evolution. Just think of all those well meaning people "Let them fight it out after school".
Essentially that means that those people actually believe that as long as you are the strongest, you get to decide the rules and get the price. But guess what, even if ypu are strong, you can still be wrong. And probably are.

Anyway. Back to the aliens.
There is absolutely no reason to believe that they evolve in any other way. Non-intelligent creatures evolve to get a stable life in the environment given.
Intelligent creatures evolve further because the want more.
And the only reason to evolve into a technological society is to get more - faster.

Eventually the society will collapse in wars and over population. Not to mention pollution.

All in all. If we find technology that are billion years old old, it won't be terribly advanced. It will be old, but that's about it.

The furthest stratch I can imagine is that if they created this fabulous society then they have invented faster than light travel, or something closely related. In that case they are already here.
And perhaps we are them? And if we are....
Look around you and see what that got us.

Perhaps an alien civilization that advanced wouldn't even need technology anymore, nor a body. They could simply be spirit beings or light beings.

And I too would think they would know more about a creator or a God. They would also likely be without wars, politics, and negative, passive emotions.

Just thinking out loud. (S&F - What an interesting topic!)

originally posted by: intrptr
a reply to: skywatcher44

A technology a million or more years in advance of ours would appear miraculous.

If I were them I would make beings that couldn't see but the narrowest of spectrums, that way I could monitor and influence them a foot away and they wouldn't even know I was there.

Pssst… they are right next to you, right now.

How do we know you're not them? Huh?

I heard what you were saying loud and clear.

a reply to: HolgerTheDane2

Meanwhile we take new territory because we want to.
"Now this is my land, and you are my new citizens".
"Well, but, eehh. We lived here first".
"Have you got a flag?".

Starred for that. Whole ideologies of control behind bits of colored cloth.

originally posted by: Rosinitiate

originally posted by: intrptr
a reply to: skywatcher44

A technology a million or more years in advance of ours would appear miraculous.

If I were them I would make beings that couldn't see but the narrowest of spectrums, that way I could monitor and influence them a foot away and they wouldn't even know I was there.

Pssst… they are right next to you, right now.

How do we know you're not them? Huh?

How do you know they didn't make you type that?

a reply to: intrptr

I don't and your first post had me rereading a lot of Vallee's work on the control system. Trying to view from a new perspective.

originally posted by: Rosinitiate
a reply to: intrptr

I don't and your first post had me rereading a lot of Vallee's work on the control system. Trying to view from a new perspective.

Any intelligence which truly valued it's existence would go post biological as rapidly as it could, and thus might be living in custom environments (inside black holes perhaps) that we could never detect or discover.

And since "the first ones" might have lived more than 10 billion years ago, and might have spread out to cover most of the Universe, observable or otherwise, the whole "show" might be long over, and we are new kids on the block, after most or all life in the Universe was discovered, cataloged and possibly kept in zoos or eradicated, in order to keep the Universe nicely organized and non-threatening for that early race.

Kev

originally posted by: KellyPrettyBear

originally posted by: Rosinitiate
a reply to: intrptr

I don't and your first post had me rereading a lot of Vallee's work on the control system. Trying to view from a new perspective.

Any intelligence which truly valued it's existence would go post biological as rapidly as it could, and thus might be living in custom environments (inside black holes perhaps) that we could never detect or discover.

And since "the first ones" might have lived more than 10 billion years ago, and might have spread out to cover most of the Universe, observable or otherwise, the whole "show" might be long over, and we are new kids on the block, after most or all life in the Universe was discovered, cataloged and possibly kept in zoos or eradicated, in order to keep the Universe nicely organized and non-threatening for that early race.

Kev

Sounds like an awful lot of work. There seems to be some deep seeded need to live indefinitely that I think is lost on me. :/

But than again, if "they" were real maybe they want me to think that.

I'm not lazy by any stretch of the imagination, nor do I lack imagination. I find beauty in an otherwise crazy world and can appreciate I can only experience a minuscule incomprehensible fraction of what exists out there.

Than again, this is all as real as the best magician can make it. Is it not?

a reply to: Rosinitiate

your first post had me rereading a lot of Vallee's work on the control system.

This guy? Jaques Vallee

There it is. How do we account for both UFO 'tech' and the spirit 'world'?

Maybe they are one in the same. I have experiences that make me go, tilt…

originally posted by: intrptr
a reply to: HolgerTheDane2

Meanwhile we take new territory because we want to.
"Now this is my land, and you are my new citizens".
"Well, but, eehh. We lived here first".
"Have you got a flag?".

Starred for that. Whole ideologies of control behind bits of colored cloth.

Thank you for that.
It remains one of my favourite sayings, and I heard it from Eddie Izzard. Brilliant comedian.

a reply to: HolgerTheDane2

I'll have to check him out, I luv the comedic perspective. If you can't laugh about it, you'll go nuts.

originally posted by: intrptr
a reply to: HolgerTheDane2

I'll have to check him out, I luv the comedic perspective. If you can't laugh about it, you'll go nuts.

You'll want to see his show "Dress to kill". It's on Youtube.

a reply to: Rosinitiate

As to work...once living things evolve to be even more automated....then it's not "work" so much anymore... It's sit back and enjoy the ride.

Look how automated humans are biologically...they go through the motions...not really live...and now we are in an automated world.

I'm just saying that the "first ones" may have the whole universe on autopilot now..

And they may be xenophobes.

Kev

originally posted by: intrptr
a reply to: Rosinitiate

your first post had me rereading a lot of Vallee's work on the control system.

This guy? Jaques Vallee

There it is. How do we account for both UFO 'tech' and the spirit 'world'?

Maybe they are one in the same. I have experiences that make me go, tilt…

Yes that is him and although he does have some great and interesting interviews, the real meat and potatoes is in his book.

I've had some rather "huh?!?" Moments myself just not to a level that we've all heard so often.