Hello, SFIA audio listeners. In this month's Nebula exclusive, big alien theory,

we're asking the reason alien civilizations might be rare is because most aliens are huge.

To hear it and every episode early and ad-free, plus hours of bonus content, check out

go.nebola.tv slash Isaac Arthur and use my code, Isaac Arthur.

This video is sponsored by CuriosityStream.

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We often worry about humanity being destroyed by aliens or artificial intelligence, but why not get two for the price of one?

So today we return to the Alien Civilization series for a short bonus episode on

artificial intelligence of alien origin, and to ask if that might be more plausible than

meeting aliens who evolved on another world. Of course this being SFIA, short episode, is a fairly relative concept,

so you probably still want to grab a drink and a snack. If I had to guess, I'd say

the majority of potential villains and antagonists we see in science fiction are either aliens

or robots. Cyborgs or genetically enhanced humans or mutants are probably

a close second, and those others are more or less of the same theme as artificial intelligence.

They are usually portrayed as something we made recklessly or by our negligence, essentially

the child that replaces us or the threat from within. Alternatively, the alien is the strange foreign threat that comes out of the mists or shadows,

or across the ocean of stars from a strange land, to kill or enslave or enthrall us.

While it's hardly unusual for science fiction to mix these together, I suppose you generally

only need your bad

guys to hit one of those natural fears.

Outside of fiction of course there's nothing peculiar about the notion that aliens might

build artificial intelligence and undergo a machine rebellion of their own, nor that they

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