I don't think we will ever observe alien life as it's too hard. Other solar systems are too far away, let alone other galaxies. We can't even properly observe nearby planets such as Venus.
However, given the age of the universe, there is strong reason to believe that other species somewhere else have likely crossed these barriers but run into another set of constraints which we simply can’t comprehend yet. These could be physical, philosophical, or even metaphysical barriers which prevent contact.
I hoped that in my lifetime we would have made more progress but it may take a few more human lifetimes before we get there, barring a breakthrough which helps leap frog our current understanding.
Maybe they won’t look like us. I have to constantly tell myself to deprogram myself the X files et al image of ‘aliens’.
https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/dete...
Is there intelligent, technological life in our galaxy? Maybe.
Have we been visited by aliens? Inconceivable.