It only takes one. If you assume that the real hurdle is there being any aliens, such that many advanced alien species are almost as likely to exist as one, th

It only takes one. If you assume that the real hurdle is there being any aliens, such that many advanced alien species are almost as likely to exist as one, then indeed the majority may not want to study us 'ants'... but it only takes one. A similar argument applies to many other things, like nuclear weapons, or any other future superweapons. It also applies to worries around AGI or artificial general intelligence. The majority of research facilities may sign on to and implement very good ethics around releasing the software, or halting it if X happens. But it only takes one.