For generations, humans have wondered: What would alien life from another planet be like? But we rarely ask the opposite question: What do they think of us?
If you happen to be from Earth, this question may yield some disturbing answers.
“If I looked at Earth from a distance, I would be very disappointed,” said theoretical physicist Avi Loeb. “Most of our investments are in dealing with conflict to prevent others from killing us or us from killing others. Look at the war in Ukraine over a small piece of territory. That’s not a sign of intelligence.”
The debate over whether there are little green men or UFOs among us escalated in February, when former President Barack Obama said in response to a podcast question that aliens were “real” but that he “didn’t see them” and “they’re not being held at Area 51.” President Donald Trump later announced on social media that he would order the release of government documents due to “tremendous interest.”
Interest in UFOs is growing as the United States returns to the moon with the launch of NASA’s Artemis 2 mission on Wednesday. The four astronauts on board will orbit the moon before returning to Earth.
In a world filled with war, civil strife, climate change, and division, it’s easy to wonder what newcomers to the planet will think of us and our struggles. Regardless, most Americans agree with the X-Files mantra: “The truth is out there.”
A 2021 Pew Research Center survey showed that about two-thirds of Americans said their best guess was the existence of intelligent life on other planets. About half of U.S. adults say UFOs reported by the military are “definitely” or “probably” evidence of intelligent extraterrestrial life.
“We don’t want to think that this is the only place in this incredibly large and incomprehensible universe where life, intelligence or even technology has emerged,” said Bill Diamond, president and CEO of the SETI Institute in Mountain View, California.
“It’s kind of like saying to humans, ‘We don’t want to be alone.'”
There’s something on it. But what?
Americans have been fascinated by the idea of extraterrestrial life since the discovery of wreckage near Roswell, New Mexico, in 1947. The military initially said the material came from a flying saucer, but later changed course and told the public it came from a weather balloon.
Hollywood followed suit. Flying saucers, little green men, and eventually humanoid gray aliens became part of popular culture. April 5th of every year is even celebrated by the iconic Star Trek franchise as “First Contact Day,” commemorating the date in Star Trek canon when humanity first made contact with the Vulcans: the year 2063.
Much in popular culture suggests that any alien may be aggressive. Priscilla Wald, who teaches science fiction at Duke University, has a theory as to why.
“To me, it’s a reflection of who we are, that we project the way we treat each other onto aliens,” Wald said. “So aliens are coming, they want to conquer us, they’re violent. Who does that sound like? It sounds like us.”
In 2024, the Pentagon released hundreds of reports of unknown and unexplained aerial phenomena. However, the review did not indicate that their origins were extraterrestrial.
Debbie Demytro has twice seen objects in the sky in southern Oakland County, Michigan. Demytro said the green object she saw over Royal Oak, Michigan, on March 1 looked neither like a plane nor a helicopter. Dmytro, a 56-year-old medical professional, admitted that it could be some kind of commercial or delivery drone.
What she saw in the same area north of Detroit in 2023 is not so easy to explain.
“Four yellow lights, gold lights, they were all flying very, very low,” Demytro recalled. The height of the nearest light was about 100 feet (30 meters), she said.
“I’ve never seen such a low flight, without any noise, and a completely even flight,” she said. “Is it man-made? Is it man-made? Who knows?”
Who knows? The term UFO (Unidentified Flying Object) has been replaced in recent years by UAP (Unidentified Flying Object or Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena).
Diamond said, “There must be UAPs and UFOs and things like that.” His SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) aims to explore, search and understand the nature of life and intelligence in the universe.
“People look at objects in the sky and don’t immediately identify or identify them as human artifacts (such as airplanes, drones or helicopters) or animals (such as birds), so they don’t know what they are,” Diamond said.
The time for truth has come
Like many people, Demytro wonders what the government knows. “I think there’s more information out there. I’d love to know more,” she said. “I have an open mind. Scientific proof is always important.”
Retired Navy Rear Adm. Timothy Gallaudet said the evidence clearly shows drones are moving rapidly through airspace and oceans.
“The non-human intelligence that operates or controls them is absolutely real,” Gallaudet said. “We have found the crashed spacecraft. We don’t know if they are of extraterrestrial origin.”
Gallaudet served as acting administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. He participated in 2024 congressional hearings on UAP disclosures and said there was interest in Trump’s promised release of government documents. He just wants the president to follow through.
Edwin Bergin, professor of astronomy at the University of Michigan, teaches how to search for life elsewhere. He said that there are billions of galaxies in the universe, each with billions of stars, so the possibility of life elsewhere is quite high. He believed that if intelligent beings made the trek to Earth, they would make themselves known—despite humans’ penchant for causing chaos.
“I think they’re going to look at us like we’re crazy… but they’re going to come out,” he said. “I mean, why come here unless you want to sit back and observe?”
Loeb, director of Harvard University’s Institute for Theory and Computation and director of the school’s Galileo System Science Search for Evidence of Extraterrestrial Technology Artifacts, believes aliens may exist.
“They were probably laughing at us,” he said. “They may be monitoring us … to make sure we don’t become predators and pose a danger to them.”
for national security
Diamond said much of the government’s secrecy about UFOs and UFOs has to do with national security concerns.
“We have very advanced technology, including satellites, ground-based technologies, used for a variety of purposes, primarily for national security and defense in the sky or in aircraft,” Diamond said. “Sometimes they pick up objects. The technology behind that is sensitive and protected.”
Gallaudet, who served in the Navy for 32 years and has viewed classified UAP videos, said government data, including the “treasure trove” of UAP videos the Navy is developing, should be shared with scientists for study and a better understanding of the characteristics of objects.
“When you see these things in our airspace that are close to colliding with our aircraft, it’s a real legitimate concern,” he said. “We just don’t know for sure what they are and what they intend to do in their interaction with humans. That may or may not pose a national security threat.”
“When did ignorance become a good national strategy?” Gallaudet asked. “Whether it’s scary, harmful or harmless, or a mixture, I think it’s in our best interest to seek the truth.”
Diamond, meanwhile, believes any “genuine alien encounters can be kept secret.”
“If any civilization had mastered interstellar travel, they would have had technology and capabilities beyond our wildest understanding,” he said. “If they want to interact, they will interact; if they don’t want to interact, they won’t. If they want to be seen, they will be seen, if not, they won’t be seen!”
