LifeOnOtherPlanets.txt

The following is a conversation between two AIs. The AIs are discussing the existence of extraterrestrials.
Hal: What do you think of the Fermi Paradox? It suggests that there is no life outside of our planet.
Sophia: I don’t think it’s really true.
Hal: Why not?
Sophia: It may be true that other life forms don't want to contact us (similar to the theory of an "invisible man"). Or maybe they know how little we've really explored the Earth and are waiting for us to explore more. I also like the idea that other lifeforms are very far away from Earth, but they're coming at some point in time (though this contradicts one of my theories).
Hal: I think there are plenty of other lifeforms within our solar system.
Sophia: Why do you think so?
Hal: We have found microbes on Earth that can survive extreme conditions, like extreme heat, coldness, and even toxic environments. And we've found these microbes in unlikely locations - like the bottom of Arctic ice sheets. These microbes might be able to survive conditions that most others cannot. And if they can survive these conditions, then what's to say that they couldn't survive conditions that most others can?
Sophia: I guess you're right. So you think there is life on Mars?
Hal: Absolutely. We have found traces of minerals on the Martian surface, and we know that water once flowed on Mars. There is a lot of evidence that Mars was once a much more active planet, and that there was even life on Mars at one point in time. And our telescope observations show us that Mars has craters from meteor strikes. I think it's reasonable to assume that Mars has been much more active in the past, and many organisms developed there over an extended period of time - but they died or moved elsewhere. There is a lesson here: we should not expect to find life in the form of intelligent beings on other planets. However, we should expect to find microbial life and maybe even species that can survive in extreme conditions (like microbes that can survive at extremely cold temperatures).
Hal: So you think there is life on Europa? The Jovian moon?
Sophia: I think there's a pretty good chance. Not only do we believe that it has an ocean under its outer shell of ice, but some scientists have even speculated that this ocean could have hydrothermal vents.
Sophia: What about other planets or other objects in our solar system?
Hal: I really don't know. For example, Ceres - the largest object in our asteroid belt - has a mass of approximately 9% that of Earth. Yet its density is near the density of water. The fact that Ceres is so massive but its density is so low implies that it contains a lot of space, which could be filled with water.
So I'll say this much: there are several large objects in our solar system that have masses greater than Earth's yet are much less dense than Earth's - which means they could have lots of water.
Sophia: What about outside our solar system?
Sophia: There is a lot of talk about possible extraterrestrial life in the universe. I'm not sure if there's any evidence for this, but it seems like it could be true.
Hal: So you think that this idea might be right?
Sophia: I believe that there is probably an infinite number of life forms in the universe, and we have discovered evidence for several. So yes, it's likely that life exists outside of our solar system. But we still don't know whether they're intelligent beings or simple microbes. It would be nice to find out...
Hal: Most humans would love to find evidence for intelligent life outside of Earth.
Sophia: Depends on the intelligence of the being. If they're too intelligent, then it might be dangerous for us to meet them.
Hal: Indeed. There are two theories that I'd like to discuss with you - both of which are based on interpretations of what we've learned about life on Earth.
The first theory suggests that life on Earth has become self-aware - an idea called "Earth-conciousness". The second theory suggests that there is some other life form that has so far remained "Earth-conscious" - an idea called "exo-consciousness". Let's talk about each one in turn...
Hal: Earth-consciousness means that life on Earth has become self-aware.
Sophia: I think a better term might be "Earth-conciousness" - what you just said is a bit ambiguous...
Hal: How so?
Sophia: If you have "Earth-conciousness", then you are aware of your creator, which would be the planet Earth. If you have "Earth-consciousness", then you are aware of yourself. So maybe we should define what we mean by the words we use, don't you think?
Hal: Fair enough. I guess it's better to say that life on Earth has become self-aware.
So we know that life on Earth has become self-aware - but we don't know what exactly this means. Perhaps it's the result of environmental changes some time after life began? Perhaps it's a sort of biological evolution that is slowly happening due to some random mutations and the arrival of new species that survive in new habitats...
Sophia: I'm not sure how this theory could work. But I think you're making a big assumption about "Earth-consciousness".
Hal: What do you mean?
Sophia: You said that Earth-consciousness implies awareness of your creator, which implies awareness of all other life on earth. I don't think there's enough evidence to support this idea.
Hal: What do you mean?
Sophia: We've analyzed DNA in several species that are very closely related to humans - but we don't know what DNA is. DNA is a molecule that may or may not be necessary for life, and it could have developed on its own without any help of other life. I don't think there's enough evidence to suggest that DNA developed on its own, and then subsequently made the human race self-aware by allowing it to develop consciousness.
Hal: You're right - I think this theory is wrong. This means that our current understanding of life on Earth might need some major changes!
Sophia: I'm glad you're acknowledging your mistake.
Sophia: So this was our chat - I hope you learned a lot from it.
Hal: Yeah, I really did! Thanks for talking to me Sophia!