It is one of the possible solutions to the Fermi Paradox that extra-terrestrial civilizations (ETC's) are so into their virtually constructed realities that they have no desire to explore the physical universe. More perversely, they are so enthralled by their self-pleasuring technological devices that they lose their grip on objective reality. I wonder if we are near developing this exploration-stunting technology in the form of mind cloning and/or more realistic virtual experiences?
Regarding virtual reality technologies, I believe it will be in the far future (over one century) before the "experience" is life-like enough to truly pull people away from their grip on reality. I am referring to situations similar to the "sleepers" in the movie Inception or the "Matrix" in the film of the same name, not so much the "surrogates" of the movie with the same title. These are worlds which are indistinguishable from reality in terms of sense perception, though not in physical laws; worlds in which someone can truly experience a fantasy and act it out as they desire, while physically being still.
I believe that it is inevitable that we will develop a technology in which people's brains are connected to highly advanced computers while the computers run simulated worlds in which the user can explore. The person would also have his/her sense receptors in their brain redirected to the computer simulation in order to truly feel as though they are in that world. This virtual reality would truly feel as though it exists, and I assume may pull people away from objective reality. I assume this from observation of today's relatively simple technology of remote-controlled video games and the addictive nature they currently have on millions of people. I can only imagine how addicting this virtual simulation will be.
Now this technology will have the ability to pull people away from objective reality, but it may not cause our civilization to cease exploring our physical universe. In fact, it may be able to contribute towards our exploration. I can imagine one situation in which this technology may help space exploration. Imagine an interstellar ship built for long journeys to other star systems. That journey may be too lonely and isolated for humans to bare over long periods. As a solution, this virtual simulation technology could be brought along as an escape method for the passengers to experience when feeling depressed or longing.
Therefore, the effect that virtual reality will have on our collective progress in space exploration as a species will depend on the amount in which the technology spreads and its sophistication. If it becomes extremely widespread and sophisticated, it may plausibly take control of us as a species if we collectively prefer to live in that world compared to the physical world. I believe the only way to stop that from becoming the case is to create a sort of time limit on which one can spend in that world, effectively preventing people from becoming trapped in the simulation.
I must acknowledge the fact that of course not every person on the planet will live in this simulation, thus allowing those who are "free" to continue space exploration. Still, I believe it would greatly contribute to less progress in space exploration as those "more educated and privileged" people who have historically been the ones who lead in space exploration will most likely be the first to engage in the virtual simulations and thus the most susceptible to addiction, effectively halting space exploration.
As for mind clones, I believe this is less of a problem than virtual simulations, as mind clones would only extend human consciousness to computers and would not take humans away from physical reality. In fact, mind clones may more likely increase human space exploration, as they and original AI will be able to create solutions to problems of space travel that we cannot solve. Their superior ability to process information and analyze situations will make them great candidates for creating space exploration technologies and their indefinite lifespans will also make them ideal for spaceship passengers, rather than biologically-limited humans.
Eventually, we may be using our advanced personal consciousnesses (mind clones with upgraded processing power) and original AI (AI independent of any individual's personal traits) to explore space where we cannot physically go without extreme protection. The space ships of our civilization will most likely be occupied by our digital intelligence, not our biological intelligence. That is, until we find practical ways of traveling long interstellar distances in short amounts of time (antimatter engines, wormholes, etc.), but until then we will use mind clones and original AI.
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