All of the posts that I've read make this assumption that at some point we will develop the tech to "seed" these planets, send the probe and that will be that... I think that what is more likely is that we will send our probe off on its way, and a hundred years later we will have developed a faster propulsion/better technology and find ourselves going "ooops, that was a waste of resources" as we our most current mission past the mission that was on its way already. If we were to send "seedling probes" out to other systems right now, (and assuming that the human race doesn't go extinct in the meantime) it is pretty much a given that the tech to send true "explore, investigate and report" type AI will be developed and sent out, arriving at the new systems long before Johnny Appleseed ever gets there.
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All of the posts that I've read make this assumption that at some point we will develop the tech to "seed" these planets, send the probe and that will be that... I think that what is more likely is that we will send our probe off on its way, and a hundred years later we will have developed a faster propulsion/better technology and find ourselves going "ooops, that was a waste of resources" as we our most current mission past the mission that was on its way already. If we were to send "seedling probes" out to other systems right now, (and assuming that the human race doesn't go extinct in the meantime) it is pretty much a given that the tech to send true "explore, investigate and report" type AI will be developed and sent out, arriving at the new systems long before Johnny Appleseed ever gets there.
He's getting a good laugh about how we're going to find the lesser of two evils this election cycle then...