First contact would probably be with robots

A few interesting points sparked by this article - andn it's good to see scientists coming around to my point of view! ;-)

• The average alien civilization is probably 50,000 years older than ours
• The technological advances that would be possible in 50,000 years of civilization are mind-boggling. The Arthur C. Clark quotation "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic" comes to mind.
• This nonsense with manned space exploration being the primary mission of NASA has to come to an end. Just as unmanned military aircraft are the future, so are unmanned spacecraft.

http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/04/04/858045.aspx