I'm not certain why this is necessarily going to be a golden age. Eventually, the top will not be able to control who gets what information. Eventually, just about anyone will have the technology and information available to them to do something utterly destructive to life (Either intentionally or by grave error.). I think humanity will soon become another example of why we don't see aliens visiting us everyday. I firmly believe that any intelligent species will destroy itself before they are able to start dispersing themselves throughout the galaxy.