Quite literally, volumes upon volumes could be written about the implications of this theory being proven correct. If BDI was shown to hold water, our entire understanding of our universe, and our place in it, would change on a level that has not been seen before in human history.

However, one of the most fundamental implications of this theory would be enormous. It would mean that even if there is someone approaching you this very second, sneaking up behind you with a knife to cut you down and hoping to end your life, they would not be your true enemy. The only enemy any of us would have would be the AGC.

Assuming you are human, it does not matter if you are a shut-in, an everyday Joe, or you are the President. If you are an emperor, chairman, führer, king, or queen - we are all going to die. For most of us, that is a very uncomfortable fact that we do our best to avoid thinking about. And, as much as most of us try every day to circumvent that fate, our time will eventually come. Physics and entropy will eventually win in the end, that much is certain. And further, when we do, most of the life that remains is more than fine with the fact that the resources you were borrowing from your environment are now available. Somewhere in the world, there is someone who feels that the world would be better off if you and everyone like you were gone because of your skin color, religion (or lack thereof), and/or culture. There is also someone in the world that would be happy to end your life to acquire your possessions, no matter how meager you might think they are. Apart from people, though – even the bacteria inside your gut, at this very moment, are just waiting for your heart to stop beating, and your immune system to stop functioning so they can begin to consume your body and the energy it contains. All life exists at the expense of other life, and that is a somewhat-unfortunate facet of our reality.

I believe that much of philosophy and religion can be distilled down to a single question. Say you died, and it was because your worst enemy killed you. An enemy country invaded your homeland, killed everyone you know and love, and took everything your country had. They killed you because they think you are beneath them – that they deserve to take your belongings, country, and lives from you, because they are superior. But, after your death, you are granted one chance to kill them, but maybe also everyone else. Say that God gave you a post-mortem choice: to unleash nuclear missiles that might very well destroy all life on the planet, even if you aimed them only at your enemy.

Do you make the choice to possibly annihilate and dispose of all life, and throw away everything our planet has been granted, because of your own pride? If your people, the people you love, cannot live alongside (or even reign supreme over) all other conscious life that you deem to be either incorrect, or beneath you, would you choose to possibly sterilize your former homeworld out of hatred and vengeance, simply because you feel that a world without your people is not worthy of existence? Do you choose to risk killing everyone and everything, thereby removing any chance that your enemy (or their descendants) might eventually see the light, and understand that they were in the wrong? Do you eliminate all possibility that your enemy might evolve past the very tendencies that brought them to strike you down?

Or, could you choose to realize that the true enemy might not be the other conscious life on our planet, or even in our own universe? The enemy might be one we can’t see, but wishes to silence us because that is what is best for their own end.

And yes, I am quite cognizant of the fact that the principles of MAD are likely the main reasons we have had some semblance of global peace over the last 70+ years, even though that peace is fragile and could end very, very badly. While the above thought experiment might make it seem otherwise, I am not advocating for absolute pacifism by any means, as I believe that the defense of life is absolutely justified.

Those who have had the privilege (and honor) of looking down on our planet from space commonly seem to experience a real, documented phenomenon. In a cognitive shift termed the overview effect, the experience often has a profound effect on their own views and their sense of self, in which they feel more connected to their planet and all of humanity. Their experience shifts their views to create a lasting impression that our world is “a beautiful, fragile world to be treasured”. I first heard of this being a documented effect after hearing what William Shatner had to say about his own experience, and whose words I found both insightful and tragic. I could not help but feel both deeply moved and saddened by the description of his revelation.

Over the past few years, I have come to form the opinion that there is sufficient evidence indicating that we are all a part of something larger than ourselves. If we decide that is the case, then learning that fact, teaching that fact, and behaving as such should be the highest priority of our existence. Deciding to choose to push consciousness beyond our homeworld – by any, and all means necessary – means that we choose to honor and respect the rare gifts that have been bestowed upon us. Even if sometimes, that means our supposed “enemies” win. I believe we should choose a future in which, even if humanity (in its current form or otherwise) is not the conscious, intelligent life that is able to leave our homeworld and live on after our Earth can no longer support life, it would mean at least there would be some form of intelligent life out there that would know our story, and could tell it: who we were, and that we were here.

I fully realize and can appreciate the fact that most of this will be viewed by many as utter idealistic nonsense. Many, or perhaps even most, believe that our differences and divisions are important enough to fight and die over. But if you truly believe that, then you are stating that humanity simply “is what it is”, and that we are completely incapable of moving past our animalistic tendencies. If that is true, our future is very likely to be one in which the story of life on this planet, and of our species, perishes with the last of us. One in which we allow our divisions and selfishness to make us incapable of peace and progress. And, one in which the only hope that any lifeform in our universe would even have a clue we existed would be from observing our transmissions as they reach faraway galaxies, long after we are gone.

Further, I understand that I have gotten rather preachy here, but regardless of whether any of this interpretation is correct or not, we face some very real existential threats. The catastrophes of anthropogenic climate change are not only on our doorstep but have absolutely busted through the front door. The species of our planet are dying off at such an alarming rate, some are calling it Earth’s sixth great extinction. We are in the midst of the most extensive military conflict the planet has hosted since World War II. The hypersonic and quantum arms races are solidly underway, with the threats and chances of a planet-wide nuclear conflict at its nearest point in history. And as we march on, we also have the looming possibility of self-conscious AGI that might not see us as their ally, especially if we create them with the intent of exploiting them as tools of war.

If we are not wise with our thoughts, our words, and our deeds, I feel there is little doubt that we will be resigned to succumb to the great filter.