Right, this is why I don't actually think the object is a probe: if there is no competition, then a million years from now, we can expect Earth-originating tech

Right, this is why I don't actually think the object is a probe: if there is no competition, then a million years from now, we can expect Earth-originating technology will have spread across the galaxy. To imagine that another civilization exists but is no more than a million years ahead of us seems like too much of a coincidence.