Our current mathematical methods for finding alien life are so flawed that we might ignore a discovery even if the telescope is looking right at it.

Standard agnostic Bayesian math used for biosignatures is too restrictive for current space missions. Proving life exists with these formulas would require surveying millions of planets, which is impossible with existing technology. Scientists might spend billions on flagship telescopes and still fail to 'prove' a discovery because the math is too conservative. This research proposes an AB-testing sampling strategy as a necessary workaround to fix this statistical bottleneck. Without this change, we are effectively setting ourselves up to miss the most important discovery in human history. It forces a complete overhaul of how we search for life in the stars.