Embrace AI as we've already done with so many other areas of our lives. We designed it to be better than us.
Since humans have first graced space with their presence, there have been 135 space shuttle missions, resulting in 833 total crew members, 789 of which have returned to earth on a NASA shuttle. Of those, 14 Astronauts have been killed as a result of the Challenger and Columbia accidents.
...Of all these efforts combined, 158 miles (254 km) marks the furthest our species has ventured beyond our home planet.
Understandably, everything human beings have engineered in terms of space travel has been aimed at getting "us" there. But it seems that time, technology, and space capabilities have landed us at a tipping point for deep space travel. A tipping point that will force a decision: are we willing to continue to chip away at an ideal of human space travel that, to be honest, yields minimal success rates? Even if the technology succeeds, it is only as good as the people that are able to operate it.
What good is the right vehicle if you can't survive the trip?
Deep space travel will only be possible through the use of robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) Humans are not designed to make the trip. Unless we are able to sustain human life on a level that can survive the trip, let alone the destination, we will be forced to relinquish the restrictions of our humanity in light of a more durable, more capable being - designed by humans, for humans. In the interest of deep space travel, these artificially intelligent beings must take on the essence of humanity without restricting itself to the pitfalls of our biological makeup and emotional tendencies.
Ask yourself, would you make different decisions if you weren't making them for yourself? We must, at bare minimum, entertain the reality that first contact with any other celestial life form, whether intelligent or otherwise, will not be with flesh and blood human beings. Why? Because that contact will likely be made beyond the point of feasible human space travel. With that in mind, the reality sets in that technological advancements in AI are not things to fear but to embrace, as they are imperative to the galactic human diaspora.
If this is our reality, then we as human beings must decide which pieces of our humanity will actually aid in deep space travel and potentially cosmic diplomacy. As we continue to integrate man with machine, we need to ensure that the best parts of mankind shine through whatever artificial form takes on deep space exploration. In doing this we will ensure that whomever, or whatever it finds understands the essence of humanity, and hopefully deems it worthy of said diplomacy. After all, once the human race is dead and gone, our technology has always been what survives, and will continue to be the artifact of human existence.
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