Brightside: We will become a species that knows the answer to the Fermi Paradox

Downside: We won't be around to tell anyone.

Neither Fermi Paradox nor mind control implies extinction.

If civilizations turn inward to entertain themselves they are not detected.

Good point, I call this the Mitochondria outcome. I also believe it's the plot point of Stanislaw Lem's Fiasco.