John Smart: The Transcension Hypothesis: Sufficiently advanced civilizations invariably leave our universe, and implications for METI and SETI

Smart proposes the transcension hypothesis: that advanced civilizations don’t spread endlessly through space but instead evolve toward “inner space,” building ever-smaller, denser, and more powerful computing systems—possibly ending in black-hole-like environments. This inward path could explain why we don’t see aliens: mature civilizations stop broadcasting and disappear into ultra-efficient forms of intelligence.