Humanity’s deepest wish is that if we encounter another intelligent life form, it will be conscious, capable of understanding, and maybe even befriend us. “Any complex system, whether evolved on Earth or elsewhere, could be conscious.” What that consciousness might look like is another matter entirely. Considering alien consciousness. Theoretical physicist and cosmologist Paul Davies, PhD, suggests that alien consciousness could be radically different from human consciousness, operating on principles fundamentally foreign to us, making communication a significant challenge. Given the universe’s vastness and age, intelligent life capable of communication, or what we perceive as conscious life, might be rare.