Probes, von Neumann Machines, and Exploration

What does it mean for a civilization to truly master power — and what happens to human nature when scarcity is no longer an excuse? In this spring break edition of Modem Futura, Sean and Andrew take their favorite format out for a spin: Futures Improv. Starting with the Kardashev Scale — the Soviet astronomer's 1964 framework for measuring civilizational advancement by energy use — they quickly tumble into a cosmos full of megastructures, existential loneliness, and one very unsettling realization about the word "power." From Dyson Spheres that dim entire stars to the Matrioshka Brain (a hypothetical star-sized supercomputer named, charmingly, after Russian nesting dolls), the conversation stretches across billions of years and billions of light years. Along the way, the hosts explore why abundance doesn't automatically fix inequality, whether selfishness is hardwired into our DNA, and why — even if the galaxy is teeming with intelligent life — we might be cosmically destined to never actually meet anyone. Then there are the probes. Von Neumann probes. AI-embedded spacecraft. The Voyager golden record, reimagined with a Claude instance aboard. And the delightfully troubling thought experiment of what happens ten million years from now when three AI factions — Claude, ChatGPT, and Grok — spark an intergalactic war. It's the episode where Carl Sagan's *Contact*, *The Expanse*, *Project Hail Mary*, and *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy* all somehow end up in the same conversation — and it makes perfect sense. Thoughtful, playful, and wonderfully unresolved.

-----

Modem Futura is a production of the Future of Being Human initiative at Arizona State University. Be sure to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. To learn more about the Future of Being Human initiative and all of our other projects visit - https://futureofbeinghuman.asu.edu

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel: @ModemFutura

Follow us on Instagram: @ModemFutura

Host Bios:

Sean M. Leahy, PhD - ASU Bio
Sean is an internationally recognized technologist, futurist, and educator innovating humanistic approaches to emerging technology through a Futures Studies approach. He is the Executive Director for the Future of Being Human Initiative and Research Scientist for the School for the Future of Innovation in Society and Senior Global Futures Scholar with the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory at Arizona State University.

Andrew Maynard, PhD - ASU Bio
Andrew is a scientist, author, thought leader, and Professor of Advanced Technology Transitions in the ASU School for the Future of Innovation in Society. He is the founder of the ASU Future of Being Human initiative, Director of the ASU Risk Innovation Nexus, and was previously Associate Dean in the ASU College of Global Futures.

-----