New Film The Age of Disclosure Alleges Government Cover-Up of UFOs, but BU Expert Is Skeptical
Joshua Semeter served on NASA panel that found no evidence for ET visitors
A film awaiting distribution alleges an 80-year coverup of UFO evidence by the government, but BU’s Joshua Semeter, who served on a NASA panel investigating the evidence, suggests curbing your credulity. Photo by Alexander Mills/Unsplash
New Film The Age of Disclosure Alleges Government Cover-Up of UFOs, but BU Expert Is Skeptical
Joshua Semeter served on NASA panel that found no evidence for ET visitors
For eight decades, the United States government has covered up evidence of extraterrestrial visitors and its own program to replicate recovered UFO craft (in official parlance, UAP, for unidentified anomalous phenomenon)—something Russia and China are also attempting.
That’s the contention, anyway, of a new, and as some are calling it, “explosive,” documentary film that interviews 34 government, military and intelligence officials: The Age of Disclosure.
What filmmaker Dan Farah doesn’t offer, according to a Hollywood Reporter reviewer who saw the movie, is evidence: “My problem with The Age of Disclosure isn’t the lack of opposing voices. It’s that there couldn’t be experts debunking anything here. Nothing is proven, and thus nothing can be refuted. …Any time somebody mentions vague events or details that have long been in the public record, they’re quick to mention how much more they know that they can’t disclose.”
That didn’t stop Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), among others, from appearing on camera, calling for more investigation.
Joshua Semeter (ENG’92,’97), a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Boston University’s College of Engineering, says there has been investigation—and he knows. He served on a 2023 NASA panel that studied the evidence for UAPs, including classified congressional testimony by David Grusch, a former Air Force and intelligence officer. Semeter, who directs BU’s Center for Space Physics, will give a talk on April 4 to the Philosophical Society of Washington, a D.C. science education nonprofit, on his panel’s findings.
As for the film, after premiering at the annual SXSW film, music, and media festival earlier this month, it does not yet have a distributor. BU Today asked Semeter about the film, its credibility, and his thoughts on what’s really out there.
Q&A
with Joshua Semeter
BU Today: What did the study panel conclude about the reliability of UAP sightings?
Semeter: The panel reached several conclusions. First and foremost, we need better data. This means simultaneous observations, from different sensors—radar, optical—and from multiple locations and perspectives.
Closely connected to this is the need for a disciplined, scientific approach to analyzing these data. We should not succumb to sensational explanations promoted by your limbic system [the emotional nervous system] and people who stand to gain by promoting spooky explanations. Third, we need to remove the stigma around UAP reporting. This mostly pertains to military aviators, who have been hesitant to report sightings they could not explain. Finally, we need cooperation and transparency among government agencies—NASA, Defense Department, FAA [Federal Aviation Administration], National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration [NOAA]. Different agencies bring different expertise, cultures, and sensing strategies to the table.
BU Today: Without stealing your thunder, what will your Philosophical Society of Washington talk say about how sensors shape a UAP’s appearance and about how observers’ perceptions can be distorted?
Semeter: Most of the most celebrated UAP events in the popular media were recorded by infrared cameras. These cameras measure temperature, which provides a very different view of the world than the reflected light information acquired by a normal, visible-wavelength camera. At infrared wavelengths, an object can disappear temporarily, or permanently, if it reaches the same temperature as the background. There are also focusing abnormalities and internal reflections that can change the apparent structure of an object. There is also the problem of parallax, which can make stationary objects appear to move at extraordinary velocities if the sensor platform is moving rapidly.
BU Today: The film claims, quoting the Washington Post, that “the U.S. government has been hiding evidence of alien encounters for 80 years—as well as a secret program to reverse-engineer the technology in retrieved UFO crashes.” How would you respond, based on your panel’s work?
Semeter: I have seen no evidence that the government has been hiding anything. And if your response is, “Well, of course you haven’t, that’s because they are hiding it!” then I guess we are at an impasse.
I have seen no evidence that the government has been hiding anything. And if your response is, “Well, of course you haven’t, that’s because they are hiding it!” then I guess we are at an impasse.
BU Today: Did the panel interview anyone in the film? If so, how credible are they and what should viewers make of the fact that they are described as high-ranking government, military, and intelligence officials?
From the trailer I saw, no, the panel did not interview any of them.
Our panel pursued a very evidence-based approach. We did interview one military aviator, Alex Dietrich. But ultimately, testimonies are simply not enough. They need to be backed up with evidence. Thus far, whenever there is an extraordinary claim, there is insufficient evidence to support it. And whenever there is sufficient evidence, the explanation is non-extraordinary.
BU Today: Is there more government information about UAPs that could be declassified and could put all of this speculation to rest?
All the evidence I have seen is now in the public domain and has been highlighted in multiple documentaries. I imagine there is more evidence of the type I have seen—infrared videos of distant objects. But there is a good reason these videos were intended to remain classified. The videos provide information about our technological capabilities, information we’d prefer not to share with our adversaries. It is not the targets that are classified—it is the technology.
BU Today: Will you watch the film once it’s out?
No, I have seen enough of these testimony-based documentaries. I honestly do not believe I have anything further to learn from the people involved, except perhaps in the realm of psychology. Some perspectives along these lines were discussed by the former director of the All Anomalies Resolution Office (AARO), Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick, who resigned from his position in protest, due to the persistent conspiratorial leanings held by people at the highest levels of government, despite concrete contradictory evidence.
I understand there is a UFO channel on cable. I’m sure they will be happy to distribute this film.
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