The firstborn hypothesis is a proposed solution to the Fermi paradox which states that no extraterrestrial intelligent life has been discovered because humanity is the first form of intelligent life in the universe.
[3][4] No transmissions or evidence of intelligent extraterrestrial life have been observed anywhere other than Earth in the universe.
This runs counter to the knowledge that the universe is filled with a very large number of planets, some of which likely hold the conditions hospitable for life.
[5] These contradictory facts form the basis for the Fermi paradox, of which the firstborn hypothesis is one proposed solution.
[6] The firstborn hypothesis is a special case of the Hart–Tipler conjecture (the idea that the lack of evidence for interstellar probes is evidence that no intelligent life other than humanity exists in the universe) which asserts a time-dependent curve towards discovery.