If ETs are expected to be found, where are the [extremely specific hypothetical construct that depends on certain technologies that may or may not be possible a

If ETs are expected to be found, where are the [extremely specific hypothetical construct that depends on certain technologies that may or may not be possible and a unique cultural context that isn't even universal to humanity, let alone all known life]? I don't know. Maybe the vast, sentient ooze of distant moons doesn't understand why anyone would want to explore the universe. Maybe the dissipant entities of gas giants don't use materials commonly found in the rest of space for construction. Maybe the chittering hivemind of habitable worlds reached incredible advancement without developing a concept of individual intelligence, and thus has no understanding of how to make a single self-sufficient AI on a probe. Maybe there are more things in heaven and Earth than are dreamt of in etc.