Some Thoughts on the Future of Technosignature Searches: Constraining the Fermi Paradox

Abstract

This paper examines how future technosignature searches may constrain competing resolutions of the Fermi Paradox, with particular attention to the possibility that technologically capable entities (TCEs) are either intrinsically rare or deliberately concealed. I propose a multi-pronged observational strategy comprising expanded radio and optical SETI, spectroscopic searches for biosignatures and technosignatures in exoplanet atmospheres, astronomical searches for large-scale extraterrestrial engineering, and Solar System searches for extraterrestrial artefacts (SETA). The latter is identified as having a distinctive temporal advantage because it can probe evidence accumulated over Solar System (and perhaps even Galactic) history, rather than requiring temporal overlap with TCEs. In this context, I argue that searches for micron-scale interstellar technological debris (Arkhipov particles) in lunar and planetary regoliths may provide an additional constraint on past Galactic technological activity. Additionally, I briefly argue that this programme of scientific exploration should be considered alongside its geopolitical and governance implications.