The notion that the government is concealing such information is utterly ludicrous. There is no discernible reason for them to do so.

If we accept all the accounts of unidentified objects swarming our skies as genuine encounters, it paints a picture of Earth under siege.

However, spoiler alert: According to Bill Diamond, the head of the SETI Institute, whose mission is to explore and comprehend life beyond our planet, it's time to embrace a dose of cosmic reality.

"We lack any evidence from a credible source indicating the presence of alien technology in our skies. We never have," stated Diamond, who serves as president and CEO of the SETI Institute, based in Mountain View, California. "The notion that the government is withholding such information is simply preposterous. There's no incentive for them to do so."

The SETI Institute plays a crucial role as a research partner for NASA and the National Science Foundation, collaborating with various industry partners in Silicon Valley. Space.com recently sat down with Diamond to delve into his perspectives and counterarguments against claims of extraterrestrial visitation, probing whether there's any signal amidst the cacophony of UFO speculation.

Thought Experiment:

Diamond suggests that while we shouldn't dismiss the possibility of discovering evidence of alien technology in our skies, we shouldn't hastily conclude that UFOs are alien technology without compelling evidence. He argues that such evidence is lacking.

To illustrate this point, Diamond proposes a thought experiment:

Consider NASA's New Horizons spacecraft, the fastest human-made spacecraft, launched in January 2006 and still journeying outward after passing Pluto.

Diamond explains that if we were to send New Horizons to our nearest neighboring star, Alpha Centauri, it would take 80,000 years to reach there. He emphasizes that any civilization capable of traversing such vast interstellar distances would possess technology far beyond our understanding.

He likens the technological gap to that between a smartphone and a Neanderthal's understanding. Diamond suggests that if such advanced beings exist, they would likely send technology rather than biology, and certainly wouldn't crash-land in our deserts like the alleged 1947 incident near Roswell, New Mexico.

In simpler terms, traveling such vast distances without adequate technology would be akin to a long journey with insufficient braking fluid.

Where might the main vessel be located? Diamond remarked, "Before deploying any crafts into our atmosphere, they would have comprehensively studied our environment, including our atmosphere, airspace, and technology." He stressed that such an occurrence is highly improbable.

"Even if it did occur, they wouldn't abandon them. Furthermore, if there were small crafts maneuvering in our airspace, where is their primary vessel? And if they wished to remain unnoticed, they wouldn't engage in such activity!”

Is there a common thread linking SETI and UFOs in the public consciousness?

"There is certainly a connection," Diamond remarked. "What drives these beliefs? It's the desire to believe. Few want to entertain the notion that Earth is the sole harbor of life in the vastness of space. Such a notion seems almost absurd."

Diamond cites the findings of NASA's Kepler mission, launched in March 2009, as an example. This mission, designed to seek out exoplanets, unearthed over 2,700 such planets outside our solar system. Over nine years of data collection, Kepler's message was clear: the cosmos teems with unseen planets, outnumbering stars.

Diamond pointed out the statistical likelihood that each star in the sky harbors one or more planets. He further noted that over 50 percent of these planets resemble Earth in terms of rocky composition and size, existing within the habitable zone of their respective stars.

This suggests the potential existence of tens of billions of habitable worlds within our galaxy alone, leading Diamond to assert that the probability of Earth being the only inhabited planet in the Universe is practically zero. He concluded that life beyond Earth is almost certain.

However, Diamond emphasized the complexity of determining the presence, temporal and spatial distribution, and proximity of advanced extraterrestrial civilizations. He highlighted the numerous variables involved in disciplines such as astrobiology, planetary science, astronomy, and astrophysics that researchers are currently grappling with.

Chance sightings

Diamond queries why extraterrestrial civilizations would opt for biology over hardware.

"The farthest objects we've launched into space are hardware. It makes sense," remarked Diamond. "But if they sent beings and all they're doing is making crop circles... seriously!"

Diamond injected another dose of doubt, suggesting that every UFO — now termed Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) — is merely a "chance sighting."

"Hence, they are highly unreliable. They lack the tools, technology, or methodology to identify what they're observing," Diamond explained.

Furthermore, the head of the SETI Institute questioned why, if the government truly believed in extraterrestrial activity around our planet, there wasn't more funding allocated to study it.

"The absence of government funding for UAP/UFO research suggests either the government is confident these random sightings hold no merit — or — they'd rather not encourage the extensive monitoring of our skies due to classified human technologies," Diamond suggested.

"I believe this is the most compelling evidence against the notion of visitors in our atmosphere," Diamond concluded.