Astrobiological Copernican Principle Estimates 36 Active Communicating Civilizations in the Milky Way

To the point

Christopher Conselice and Tom Westby estimate that about 36 civilizations in the Milky Way could be currently communicating, and that how long these civilizations last mainly determines how many are active at once, with the nearest possibly 17,000 light-years away, implying that if intelligent life is common humanity could endure far longer than a few hundred years and if none exist the outlook for our future would be grim.