The universe is vast beyond comprehension, brimming with countless worlds that could harbor life. Yet, where are the signs—such as microwave signals—of extraterrestrial civilizations?
This is the Fermi Paradox: the puzzling reality that, despite billions of stars in the Milky Way (and trillions beyond), we've detected no evidence of advanced alien life.
This question has intrigued scientists and philosophers for generations since Enrico Fermi first posed it decades ago. Theories abound: perhaps aliens are hibernating, evolution stalls mysteriously, or they simply avoid us.
Now, theoretical physicist Alexander Berezin from Russia's National Research University of Electronic Technology (MIET) offers a provocative explanation in his preprint paper. He calls it the "first in, last out" solution to the Fermi Paradox.
Berezin argues for a "trivial solution, requiring no controversial assumptions," though it "may prove difficult to accept, as it predicts a future for our own civilization that is even worse than extinction." Many solutions falter by narrowly defining alien civilizations, he notes. "The specific nature of civilizations that arise at the interstellar level shouldn't matter," Berezin writes. "They could be biological organisms like us, AIs that rebelled against their creators, or entities like those described by Stanislaw Lem in Solaris."
Despite this broad view, we see no cosmic evidence. Berezin focuses on one key metric: "the probability of life becoming detectable from space, at some distance from Earth. For simplicity, let's call this the 'A parameter.'"
If civilizations don't hit this detectability threshold—via interstellar travel, signals, or otherwise—they remain hidden, but that doesn't solve the paradox.
Berezin's "first in, last out" idea is darker: What if the first species to achieve interstellar capability inevitably wipes out all competition to fuel its expansion? This needn't be intentional. They might not even notice, like a construction crew demolishing an anthill for real estate, lacking the will or precision to spare it.
Are we the ants awaiting destruction? No—Berezin suggests we're likely the first arrivals, destined to be the last to leave. "The only explanation is the invocation of the anthropic principle. We are the first to arrive at the [interstellar] stage and, most likely, we will be the last to leave," he writes.
This destruction could emerge naturally from complex systems beyond control, like unchecked free-market capitalism or rogue AI. "A rogue AI could potentially populate the entire supercluster with copies of itself, turning every solar system into a supercomputer, and it's no wonder why it would do that. All that matters is that it can happen," Berezin warns.
This view casts us as unwitting frontrunners in a cosmic race. Berezin hopes he's mistaken, and many scientists remain optimistic about eventual contact. His theory is the latest bold hypothesis explaining our starry solitude.
