Navel-gazing

Astronomers, ancient, recent, and current have looked and are looking for "life, as we know it", elsewhere in the universe. A lot of resources are applied to this purpose (see image). Whenever I hear or read this statement something in my mind asks: what about life as we do NOT know it (yet)? 

NASA

The James Webb Telescope (Sun.Org)

(Costs of building and launch have been quoted as 10 billion dollars. It is used for other explorations as well.)

What follows is my thinking (I am no expert) about the subject. The starting event was what we call the Big Bang. Scientists have established that all the atomic particles, atoms themselves, molecules, down to the smallest sub particles came into existence in a sequence of events depending on pressure, temperature, time and available space and other temporary conditions. Whatever combination of particle combinations occurred in that time frame, the final results are entities we call stars, planets, galaxies, and whatever else we find in space (including us), all made from some part of the same source of atomic materials. 

There are occasions which I think of as a small repetition of the Big Bang. They happen inside very large and giant stars. These stars are at the end of their present existence; they no longer produce the counter pressure that made it possible to counteract the gravitational forces which try to concentrate the star's material at the centre of the star. Without that counter pressure, the star can collapse at an immense speed and with extremely large activating of huge amounts of light and much other electromagnetic activity. These energetic conditions create and may also recombine and blow the material of which the star is made into space (some part of the same materials which followed the Big Bang because that's the material which made up the star in the first place). We can observe such events. We call them supernovae. 

Our current level of technology allows us to watch the formation of new stars from the material blown into space by the collapse of dying stars. This means that the forming of new stars, planets, moons, meteors, rocks, air, and every other physical piece which we observe associated with that event uses the material from supernovae. It can be called the stuff of stars. We know of no other available material to form a new thing. Therefore, everything, including us, could only be made of some part of Starstuff. 

So, finding life as we know it could be possible. It would have to be made from the same basic materials of which we are made, starstuff, and the same organizational principles. It would also actually replicate itself or help some other species do so, as we know it. 

Is replication the proof of life?  Currently, we are quite intensely concerned with the speedy growth of Artificial Intelligence (AI). We have built computers which do replicate themselves, based on sophisticated software written by humans. Some of these computers (robots?), in my thoughts, could be working to improve and, independently, come up with a way to replicate themselves without having to rely on any human effort or connection. If we were to encounter such entities somewhere in space, would we recognize such as life, and, specifically, life as we know it ? It can only be built from Starstuff (which is the same as what was originated by the Big Bang). Could this affect our species' existence? If AI outcompetes us over time, and our species slowly disappears will AI consider us to be the gods that created them ? Astronomy connects with many of our different sciences, examples are Astrochemistry,  Astrobiology, Astrophysics, Electronics, and other scientific activities. How will these sciences affect us if they are controlled by AI ? 

In my younger years I voraciously read science fiction written by Arthur C. Clarke, Robert A. Heinlein, and Professor Isaac Asimov (all polymaths in my opinion) had interests in writing science fiction. These writings often included the interaction of humans and human-like robots. These robots had levels intelligence about equal to that of our current Artificial Intelligence. Professor Asimov required these robots to operate only under his Three Laws of Robotics:

(from Wikipedia)

Perhaps our current AI should incorporate these same laws without any possibility to remove or inactivate them by either Humans or  robots.

I think about these things because, before I retired about 10 years ago, making my living included having an electronics background. The recent improvements in that field, with closer relations to the computing world, make me consider these things. 

One thing we will likely have in common with whatever entity evolves in the future: we are, and will be, made of some part of Starstuff. Since everything in the Universe looks like Starstuff (again: including us, we are a piece of Universe), when we examine and explore the Universe we can say that the Universe is examining itself. 

..... Navel-gazing

Some questions remain in my mind: What is Dark Matter ?  What makes the Universe expand ?  Maybe AI knows?

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