If we are alone it may be evidence that we have sneaked past the huge hurdles in the way of any species becoming an intelligent star-faring civilization. Then again, we could still be extinguished at any moment.
(Read the complete essay here.)
Nick Bostrom Ph.D. is Professor of Applied Ethics at Oxford University, the Director of the Oxford Future of Humanity Institute, and co-founder and Senior Fellow of the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies, and founding chair of the World Transhumanist Association (Humanity+).