Hello !

I've just finished reading the book "Are We Spiritual Machines?: Ray Kurzweil Vs. the Critics of Strong AI",
and on a page Kurtzweil gives a solution to the Fermi paradox. I'm not sure Kurtzweil has even
heard of the paradox.

If an advanced civilization is capable of traveling to Earth, it must possess an
advanced technology. It's likely that all of them or nearly all know how to
manipulate matter at atomic levels (nanotechnology). A computer-based intelligence
is likely to be microskopic in size. Therefore they could travel to earth in a very small
spaceship undetectable by us. The only reason for such an advanced civilization to
visit us would be to study us, get information about our system. They don't need
any materials from Earth as they use their nanotechnology to create whatever they want.

Such information could be retrieved by sending a probe spaceship, capable of
observing, doing calculations and communicating. A probe like this could be smaller
than a grain of sand !

So these spaceships could have been here many times without we seeing them. Heck,
they could even land on President Bush's desk without him noticing.

It sounds fantastic, but think about it, our technology has been shrinking for years and
is continuing to do so. When we master nanotechnology we can build very small devices
atom by atom.

How to verify the solution ? We can't really find these spaceships, so the only way I can
think of is to keep on listening in the sky, as SETI is doing.


I've read the book "Fifty solutions to the Fermi paradox" by Stephen Webb, a while ago,
and this solution doesn't seem to be included. Anyone has an email address for Mr
Webb, I can't find one.
Thanks.

Martin Andersen