Lord Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal and University of Cambridge Emeritus Professor of Cosmology and Astrophysics, believes that machines could surpass humans within a few hundred years, ushering in eons of domination. He also cautions that while we will certainly discover more about the origins of biological life in the coming decades, we should recognize that alien intelligence may be electronic. "Just because there's life elsewhere doesn't mean that there is intelligent life," Lord Rees told The Conversation. "My guess is that if we do detect an alien intelligence, it will be nothing like us. It will be some sort of electronic entity."