Last updated on September 9, 2024
“…across the gulf of space, minds that are to our minds as ours are to those of the beasts that perish, intellects vast and cool and unsympathetic, regarded this earth with envious eyes, and slowly and surely drew their plans against us.”
– H.G. Wells
Beyond the bare possibility of their existence, we know nothing of civilizations that might fulfill the criteria established by Kardashev in his infamous scale. Briefly speaking, a Type I Civilization possesses the ability to effectively harness and exploit all accessible energy sources of its home planet, encompassing all resources such as fossil fuels, solar power, wind power, and geothermal energy. Humanity has yet to achieve this status. A Type II Civilization has the ability to use the entire energy output of its parent star, which can be achieved by constructing a colossal structure known as a “Dyson Sphere.” Indeed, there are several candidates for stars that may be surrounded by these structures under observation by astronomers right now. Finally, a Type III civilization possessed of the ability to utilize the total energy output derived from an entire galaxy, including the energy output of billions of stars. These types of civilizations could conduct unimagined processes on a galactic scale and may have the ability to manipulate matter on a subatomic scale, time, and space. Would such civilizations be interested in us, and if so, how might our interests differ? It would be naïve to believe that they are consistent. This has far-reaching implications for humanity.
It is entirely possible that a Type I civilization, which is, perhaps, only marginally more advanced than we are, would consider us a society on the verge of great technological and social change. As it stands now, we are on the verge of producing stable, reproducible fusion reactions. We have already achieved over unity on a small scale, and it will be but a blink of time before fusion becomes the primary source of our electrical energy. Artificial intelligence, combined with quantum computing, presents us with the ability to recreate and surpass our own, innate human intelligence. We are quickly integrating ourselves with these technologies, greatly enhancing our own abilities as well as those of computers. We are quickly moving to a state of biological and mechanical symbiosis.
A Type I civilization might wish to observe us to gain understanding of the difficulties and dangers associated with transitioning to a Type I civilization. Does it parallel their own development, or are there vast differences in the manner developing civilizations achieve this status, if they make it? This would likely involve observing how we manage dwindling resources, existentially threatening environmental issues, and social and political upheaval. How might the knowledge of other civilizations affect human culture? The possibility exists that they may be interested in trading information or technology to assist us in avoiding the challenges that they faced on their way to becoming a Type I civilization. There is also the possibility that they might like to gain knowledge from our distinctive scientific or cultural viewpoints. It is also possible that a Type I civilization would consider us to be potential future partners or allies. The formation of early diplomatic relationships may prove to be beneficial for the future development of both parties and for the possibility of future collaboration.
Of course, this is a ridiculously pollyannish perspective. It is equally possible, and perhaps more likely, that this type of civilization might view humanity as a threat. We are, after all, efficient at creating evermore deadly weapons of mass destruction, and as we push further into space with our newfound AI enhanced wits, we may one day find ourselves in a direct confrontation with a Type I Civilization that doesn’t necessarily share our “human” values. It is for this reason that it is much more likely that that their observations of us would take place as clandestinely as possible, with as little interaction as possible. The less we know about them and their technology, the less likely we are to exploit it and turn it against them. In turn, the more they can learn about us by simply observing our behavior toward each other.
As we move further up the Kardashev scale, it becomes increasingly difficult, if not impossible, to predict or speculate about the nature of such civilizations’ interest in us. We can safely assume, however, that any technology humans possess has already been mastered by these civilizations by many orders of magnitude. This has far-reaching implications. These civilizations will have the ability to construct sophisticated models of our universe, accurate to the tiniest, subatomic particles. They could be running sophisticated simulations in which what we experience as human consciousness is nothing more than the result of an elegant algorithm written by an alien coder. They could create life itself, manipulate the genomes of existing species, construct artificial, self-replicating beings to conduct research and gather data in greatly diverging environments, imbue presumably inanimate objects with consciousness, and even create entirely new universes of their own design.
A Type II civilization’s interests may be more scientific or even strategic, but on a much grander, inter-dimensional scale. It is possible that they would be interested in monitoring Earth for the presence of unusual environmental conditions or resources that are uncommon in their own, individual systems. It is possible that they have a particular interest in biological resources or the biosphere of the Earth, or more likely, our DNA. A Type II civilization might monitor us to get a better understanding of our biological diversity, social systems, or evolutionary path. Earth could be viewed as a rich environment for unique genetic sequences that could be integrated into new species, or even into their own genomes to maintain or increase their own biodiversity.
A Type III civilization, which would be capable of regulating energy throughout an entire galaxy, would consider our culture to be extremely primitive. Even more abstract in nature, their interests could be so divergent from our own that they may have no interest in us at all, and no shared interests. What benefit would derive from communication with such a primitive species? It is entirely possible that a Type III civilization, given their potential capabilities, might have a limited, yet direct interest in us as individuals or as a community. We might be comparable to ants in a garden; we are noticed, but we are not very essential. Nonetheless, even humans have scientists called ‘entomologists’ who do nothing but study tiny insects, like ants. The analogy is obvious. They may be interested in us on a similar, dispassionate, purely scientific level.
It is also possible that they may be interested in us as a case study in the basic evolution of civilizations, or in the evolution of “intelligent” life. They may view Earth as a one-of-a-kind repository of biological diversity in the cosmos, and as a result, they may be interested in finding ways to preserve it. It is possible that, at the very least, they gently guide or guard our planet to preserve its rich ecological diversity. On the other hand, they could have directly intervened and seeded all life on Earth as well as countless other planets.
Whatever their motives may be, it would be inappropriate to assign or project human motives onto their behavior. These civilizations could have entirely different evolutionary, biological, psychological, and cognitive foundations. Their evolutionary history may not resemble ours at all, leading to motives and behaviors that are incomprehensible to us. For example, human motives often revolve around survival, reproduction, social interaction, and resource acquisition. An alien species may have evolved under completely different conditions, leading to priorities and behaviors that are not driven by these factors.
A Type II or III civilization would likely possess forms of intelligence far beyond our comprehension, potentially involving artificial intelligence, hive minds, or deep, collective consciousness. Their decision-making processes may be governed by unfamiliar logic, unique ethics, or noble objectives that are alien to us. These civilizations might have transcended biological existence altogether, operating in ways that are purely technological or energy-based, with motivations centered around concepts that we cannot even imagine or conceptualize.
A Type III civilization, which operates on a galactic scale, might view individual planetary civilizations like ours as insignificant in the grand scheme of things. Their motives might involve galaxy-wide engineering projects, exploration of the universe’s fundamental laws, or even interdimensional travel, rather than concerns that would make sense on a human scale. These advanced civilizations would have a vastly different perception of time. What is urgent or important to us might be trivial or irrelevant to them, as they might think in terms of millennia, if not longer. They may even be able to manipulate time and the fabric of space itself.
We are confronted with “unknown unknowns” when considering the possible motives of these civilizations. Their behaviors, intentions, and values could be driven by factors that are not just different from ours, but completely outside our realm of understanding. Even if we could communicate with such civilizations, the concepts and language needed to convey their motives might not exist within human cognition. This makes it impossible to fully grasp their intentions within our limited, human framework.
Of one thing we can be assured: it is a mistake to believe that these civilizations are purely benevolent. Occasional exceptions noted, nowhere in nature do we find purely altruistic and compassionate behavior on the part of any given species toward another, least of all in humankind. We carry a brutal legacy. It defies logic to assume that spacefaring civilizations of Type I, II or III would be benign in their intentions, motivations, or in their behaviors. Considering the risk, it might be best to simply lay quietly in the grass while the predators pass and hope they don’t hear us breathing.
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