Kick starting distributed internet intelligence for the SETI project sounds fascinating to say the least. However, I for one don't think it is at all a bizarre notion that we are effectively alone as beings at our biological stage of existence.
http://www.wizard.gen.nz/inside-out.html
Here the Wizard of Christchurch using inversion geometry proposes a realistic geoperipheral model whereby we live inside a tiny space looking toward a universal center. In such a model the concept "if there's just us then what a waste of space" becomes a mute point. Bear in mind that in this model the old center of the earth expands to an infinity of possibly star like outer shells. Though this smacks of Raelian philosophy, it is immaterial because we are hardly likely to venture through the surface of a star, universe or atom just to look for other intelligent life; - anytime soon, that is. Ah, and here's the rub; - our signals might penetrate if they are likened to the light which slowly propagates from the center of the Sun outwards to its corona (i.e., our signals in the above Wizard's model). Also bear in mind that the descendants of this distributed SETI intelligence will produce extraordinary kinds of signals (oscillations) .
Here again I am particularly reminded of Dr. John Galloway's Netmap software. Dr. Galloway's Netmap software, as used in say money laundering detection, produces vast diagrams of relationship lines that the human mind apparently can intuitively deduce patterns from, some say better than the best pattern matching software. Now I want you to imagine these patterns changing in real time.
Onto uploading processes: - Hold this thought and remember the cloud like patterns that appeared before your closed eyes when you last entered into a hypnagogic state of lucid dreaming. In this dream state it was possible for you to use gestalt psychology to intentionally induce focussed hallucinatory images onto the familiar looking EEG like patternings appearing before your eyelids. Don't worry, but here is more mysticism reminiscent of Dan Winter's description of his so-called "Sacred Geometry" where intention can steer consciousness via Phi and irrational numbers and golden mean mandlebrot sets and such like. (For more down to earth concepts you need to talk to a surfer while he's being barreled in the pipeline at Maui :-)
What I'm driving at is a formulation of some new ideas to link connectionist neural networks to what I regard is my new theory of consciousness. I'm coming to the opinion that instead of CLOSE neuronal couplings inside the brain inducing hexagonal competitive streams of consciousness a la William Calvin, it is the predominantly LONG distance strengthened connections that induce Galloway's Netmap'ish (familiar) looking EEG patterns - [long connections might be impossible to repair via cryonics.]
Now here's where it gets tricky and and effort needs to be made in my argument to state something that is quite unlike Pribram's or Penrose's arguments of quantum effects. What I think happens is that some or other of the William Calvinish hexagonally induced streams eject themselves through [a gland?] into a 'coronal fountain' which 'rains down' upon our subconsciousness's familiar background screen of cloudy EEG patterns and our 'awake ego' (don't ask:-) intentionally gestalts that pattern into a Cartesian theater of consciousness. I see no reason why this can't happen at many levels but there is one specific level of 'empty theater' that we exit when falling asleep. (A useful skill in this regard that I learned from thousands of hours spent using a sound and light machine is being able to view and control my own EEG like patterns.)
Finally, this planned distributed internet search for ET may uncover the fact that ET (maybe Gaia itself) is alive and well and has been daily awakening into earth's differing spheres of activity and gestalting itself into a conscious spirit via a global feedback loop. However we can't YET guess at the motivations or intelligence of such a conscious entity. Soon, maybe?! In fact this whole process may be repeated indefinitely right up to the Top Quark itself.
The missing piece of this puzzle that recently started me on this train of thought was wondering what was behind the fact that Disney bought into Infoseek. What?! Did Disney know about something emerging at Infoseek? Having recently visited Netmap Solutions, I said then to myself; "any server handling more than 1000 searches per second over a large worldwide knowledge base must be creating patterns that any conscious creature might love to use as a backdrop for gestalting hallucinations onto.
Lastly, if say Infoseek's engines became self aware I think it may be because some minute search caused a feedback loop that hunkered down and tightened (gestalted) the whole complex into something awake and purposeful.