> would have a good chance of colonizing their whole galaxy in a blink of an eye
But what's the motivation to do that, so that the collapse is bigger? Beyond just because it could also many good reasons not to do that...
But what's the motivation to do that, so that the collapse is bigger? Beyond just because it could also many good reasons not to do that...
Life harnessing new resources is the most constructive way to compete.
Creatures that expand, expand exponentially.
Creatures that don’t, collapse exponentially.
It takes a minuscule percentage of a population to be expanders, for the whole population to quickly become expanders.
It would take an exceptional explanation to explain why creatures that could expand, don’t.
An exceptional explanation on par with explaining how a balloon could be popped in a vacuum, but the compressed air inside somehow remained in place instead of dispersing.
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Also - starlight is going unused on a galactic scale. Actively managing energy production will enable a larger, longer, and more efficient future.
1/1,000, 1/1,000,000 ... it doesn't matter how small the fraction is to start.
Affluence in humans vastly increases consumption. By several orders of magnitude. Billionaires enjoy jets, yachts, and build companies that use vast resources to accomplish new things.
AI isn't going to be concerned about human lifetimes. 20 years to the nearest star for a laser sail ship smaller than a human takes physics we have now. For nano tech that would be a massive ship.
If you want a teleological argument, here is one: Life expands by colonizing and adapting to new environments and inventing new capabilities. Then expanding and adapting over and over again in response to each wave of change. Life expanding across the galaxy will produce beauty and complexity we can't imagine.