Non-random structures in universal compression and the Fermi paradox

TL;DR

This paper explores how universal compression algorithms can detect non-random structures in signals, potentially explaining the Fermi paradox by suggesting alien messages may be efficiently compressed and thus harder to detect.

Contribution

It introduces the idea that universal compression methods can reveal non-random patterns in signals, offering a new approach to searching for extraterrestrial intelligence.

Findings

Universal compression can detect non-random structures in compressed data.

Kolmogorov stochasticity parameter effectively identifies non-randomness.

Zipf's law supports the universality of these detection methods.

Abstract

We study the hypothesis of information panspermia assigned recently among possible solutions of the Fermi paradox ("where are the aliens?"). It suggests that the expenses of alien signaling can be significantly reduced, if their messages contain compressed information. To this end we consider universal compression and decoding mechanisms (e.g. the Lempel-Ziv-Welch algorithm) that can reveal non-random structures in compressed bit strings. The efficiency of Kolmogorov stochasticity parameter for detection of non-randomness is illustrated, along with the Zipf's law. The universality of these methods, i.e. independence on data details, can be principal in searching for intelligent messages.