Planets are far more common than we thought a little while ago. I assume that makes alien life likely to be far more common too. As our technology improves, such as pattern recognition and signal processing, I also would guess that we can search far faster and more effectively and that our search speed and accuracy will quickly improve.<p>Per Wikipedia, FWIW:<p><i>A 2013 study based on results from the Kepler spacecraft estimated that the Milky Way contains at least as many planets as it does stars, resulting in 100–400 billion exoplanets</i><p>When does it become critical, and not an interesting intellectual exercise, to decide whether we want to find alien life and what to do if such a thing happens.<p>(The discussion is well-worn, that it could be beneficial and that it could be catastrophic, either due to superior technology, disease, or the endless unexpected possibilities.)