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Civilizations with the capacity to travel interstellar distances should be detectable to us, even hundreds of light years away. They are not. This is a paradox because the odds say we should.

To finish my thought.

One of the reasons some theorists believe that we are more likely to be in a simulation is because we are not detecting other civilizations.

The only way to travel between stars is as light. And this is only possible once a civilization has transitioned from organic to inorganic intelligence. That is, the electro-chemical pulses that represent consciousness & thought in our brain. (actually, just a small portion located in the prefrontal cortex; about 1.5lbs of organic matter) are reproduced as light waves.

Now, this also poses another interesting question: can a life form still locked into a more primitive state of organic intelligence detect others which have transitioned to an inorganic state?

This is a really loaded question if you consider the wider ramifications. For instance, perhaps there are billions (trillions?) of emergent lifeforms scattered throughout the universe, but only a small percentage reach any level of self-awareness/intelligence. Once on this path, however, perhaps it is inevitable due to the exponential nature of awareness (ie the doubling of knowledge every two years) that they all eventually reach a point of maturity where the transition occurs.

So, unless we are/were first (highly unlikely), then it's perhaps reasonable to conclude and/or logical to assume there are many other beings already present. And if that's the case, then we would merely be in an observational state, awaiting our long expected admission to the ranks.