I think he's implying that the reason we haven't encountered other intelligent life (aliens) is because at a certain threshold of civilizational affluence/comfort, civilization naturally collapses due to low birth rates. The mouse utopia experiments provide credible evidence for this thesis, unfortunately. In this context, I believe he is accusing you of trying to stop a hurricane with a pinwheel. For what it's worth, though, I appreciate your comments on the subject, and do not find them futile.
Discussion
Geoffrey Miller has speculated that the solution to the Fermi Paradox is that civilizations reach the stage of being able to create artificial realities (of which video games and generative AI may be very early precursors), which become so engaging and compelling that they consume so much of their limited supply of energy with them that they become physically unable to leave their home planet to colonize other worlds.
