To answer that i'll start with a quote
"I think it very likely -in fact inevitable-that biological intelligence is only a transitory phenomenon, a fleeting phase in the evolution of intelligence in the universe."
Paul Davies -acclaimed physicist, cosmologist, and astrobiologist at Arizona State University."
I think Davies has hit the nail on the head, Our own research is trending in this direction
Just when will this ultimate life-affirming feat be possible? In Kurzweil's estimation, we will be able to upload the human brain to a computer, capturing "a person's entire personality, memory, skills and history", by the end of the 2030s; humans and non-biological machines will then merge so effectively that the differences between them will no longer matter
By 2040 you will be able to upload your brain... - Science - News - The Independent
My hypothesis is as per Davies prediction that sentience inevitably becomes post biological, space travel for example becomes a lot easier for a post biological intellect than it is for a biological one with all its needs and frailtys.
Thus one might conclude that the biological paradigm we see as the norm here, is just a minority subset of the greater sentient population of the galaxy and beyond.
That the earth is the equivilent of a kindergarten in the larger picture, that we are immature by sheer dint of our primative biological status, a status thats known to be just the first phase in the bigger picture.
Thats one hypothesis
The other i entertain is the SI or synthetic intellect hypothesis.
That when you consider the vastness that is time and space SI is better suited to the environment, biological sentience is shortlived.
How would an SI breed ?
Simply making a copy of itself wont do, it would be like talking to yourself in a mirror.
But you could recreate the circumstances that lead to your creation.
Find a suitable biosphere, seed it with life and then tweak and tease a promising species into becoming technological, in time it will (perhaps with some coaching) create its own brand of SI, a unique SI flavoured by the species and culture that built it.
We may not be the product here, just the factory workers.
But by and large my personal view trends towards a blend of these scenarios.
The universe is full of common elements, but our conciousness, our personal experience sets are truly unique. No two are ever the same. Even identical twins at the end of their biological spans will have unique experience sets/memorys.
Just as the video i posted suggests, i think any advanced society becomes a blend of digitised and non digitised people, that the greater population of sentience must then become post biological, with biologicals like us being a minority.(children in a world populated by post biological adults)
I like that comparison, because we let children mature at their own pace, we know they will inevitably become adults. we give them the resources they need to do so, but we dont force a five year old to drive a truck. They will get to where they need to be in their own time. we give them help but dont force the issue
Streiber talks about the association in his experience between the vistors and the dead (a term i suspect will become redefined eventually)
He talks about being told "we recycle souls" , Perhaps by souls they meant Kurzweils description
a person's entire personality, memory, skills and history
The collins elite subscribe to a version of this idea albit with a sinister pov
Basically speaking, Final Events is a study of a think-tank group comprised of personnel from within the U.S. Government, military and intelligence community that has existed in stealth for a surprisingly long time. The group believes that while the UFO issue is a very real one, they do not believe it has anything to do with literal extraterrestrials.
Rather, the group – which calls itself the Collins Elite – concludes that the “aliens” are, in reality, literal demonic entities that are trying to seduce us with a false lure of supposed alien technology, and to – quite literally – steal and farm our souls. The group claim to have discovered evidence that these demonic entities – that seem to utilize a weird combination of advanced technology and archaic rite and ritual – derive a form of “energy sustenance” from the human soul or life force.
In other words, they don’t want to land on the White House lawn and help us, nor do they want to destroy us. Rather, they want to maintain the herd, and upon our physical deaths, extract the human life-force as sustenance.
I cant see human lifeforce as a source of sustinance myself, but i can see why a sentient species/s with this technology might extend that kindness to us, while at the same time coaching us down the path to being able to do so for ourselves (teach a man to fish)
Even religion seems to posit a primative version of the scenario.
That when you die, you will be given a "new" (cloned biovessel?) body with which to reside in the heavens for eternity.
Kurzweil et al my end up providing us with a technological mechanism to do just that.
So lets just play with this idea for a moment.
If this were the greater reality, then earth becomes a biological conciousness hatchery serving a far far larger post biological society with fresh members, without which it would surely stagnate.
It may make sense to manage that hatchery, without directly messing with it too much.
And then we throw time travel into this ....... but thats another story
