Have you read any Iain M. Banks? He described a world like that which had intelligent, technology-using life on it (though didn't explain how they evolved) :-)

You're right, our position has lots to do with luck in one sense because we're lucky it's us and not another species.

However the universe is so vast, there must be billions of 'earths' out there, so we're only lucky in the antrhopic sense.

My god, it's full of stars!

Cg