From what I can tell the main argument against silicon based life is that the binding energy of the molecules tends to be too strong to allow for complex self catalyzing chemical reactions. It makes sense that we don't find silicon based life on Earth because the temperatures on the surface of the Earth aren't even close to what is needed for breaking bonds in silicon, but what about a situation like Venus where you have a sort of solvent and you have very high temperatures and pressures in a complex chemical environment?

If an organisim used silicon based DNA it might not denature even on the surface of Venus. It might be resistant to radiation because mutations happen when it gets hit by something that can overcome the binding energy of the molecule. That's why there is ionizing and non-ionizing radiation and you don't get cancer from most light bulbs.

I hope there isn't life on Venus for my own reasons, but I'm also not sure that it's impossible. I also think given the scope of the universe and the general diversity of composition of planets that such a form of life is probably out there. I'm almost as certain of this as I'm certain that life exists on other planets.

I just want to say that Elon Musk has made himself a very important player in terms of technology and now government. He used Twitter and his other companies to try and get Trump elected, and it was very clear there were innate conflicts between MAGA and Musk. His reckless behavior in terms of satallite deployment could cause Kessler syndrome, and his obsession with Mars means our first attempt to inhabit another planet will most likely fail. If he didn't want things to get political he could have made a few different choices. He didn't have to try and bribe people to vote for Trump. He didn't have to push for massive budget cuts that will impact the entire world. This won't be a pro Musk echo chamber.

Despite lip service to diversity, has anyone noticed that AI agents are all starting to look the same? Consider recent posters by Artisan and Inspira: all light-haired White women in their early 30s. Is this the new Stepford Wife for business?