I don't even think a person can count to a billion, much less see a billion miles away and tell what's there.
There are two probabilities at play. One is that given the number of stars which could likely support an Earth like planet, there is a HIGH probability of some kind of life similar to ours out there.
At the same time, because these stars are so goddamn far apart, their is an equally HIGH probability that any two randomly existing life forms will NEVER come in contact with one another, given the limitations of space travel, and the speed of light constraint (nothing can travel faster than the speed of light according to current understandings of physics).
(
Drake Equation)
So yeah, there probably IS life or even intelligent life, BUT neither they nor we will ever have PROOF of each other's existence.