You assume that going to the stars is a measure of intelligence, and it does seem logical, but what if a comparably intelligent race decided against doing it? For example, if they have a way to live forever on their planet but lack the means to support the same conditions when they leave it, let alone the incentive to change other planets to habitual for them, then developing the star-reaching technology is not a Great Filter for them, but merely a step outward.
You assume that going to the stars is a measure of intelligence, and it does seem logical, but what if a comparably intelligent race decided against doing it? For example, if they have a way to live forever on their planet but lack the means to support the same conditions when they leave it, let alone the incentive to change other planets to habitual for them, then developing the star-reaching technology is not a Great Filter for them, but merely a step outward.
That’s a category of solutions to the Fermi paradox, but it requires uniformity of motive inside a species (no-one will want to expand) and between species (all species will stay put). I’ve addressed these issues at the end of: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrUWkfeJABY&list=UU_qqMD08PFrDfPREoBEL6IQ