Talking with Ben Hansen about Roswell: The Final Verdict

Roswell: The Final Verdict invades —er, begins streaming— on discovery+ on Friday, July 2. Just in time for World UFO Day! (Well, one of them. There are two World UFO Days. July 2 is the one most widely recognized and celebrated.) Ben Hansen is among the experts who appear in the series.

I got a chance to talk with him about the series, the UFO report, and what he thinks about AI detection software. I’ve embedded the podcast episode below so you can hear the whole conversation. This is sort of the cheat sheet highlight reel.

1. What does Ben Hansen like most about the format of Roswell: The Final Verdict?

The series is comprised of four different elements:

1. Reenactments
2. Witness testimonies
3. The experts (like Ben)
4. Artificial intelligence (AI) lie detection software

I wondered what Ben thought of it and if there was any aspect he liked best.

He felt the series overall really breaks down the whole story, which most people are familiar with as “grazers of information.” However, very few have dived in and know the intricacies. Roswell: The Final Verdict changes all that.

And really, how could he not pick the AI lie detection software as being the most exciting part of the series? As he put it, “it offers one of the biggest breakthroughs the case has had in many, many years.”

Because as he explained, most of the key eyewitnesses died a long time ago. There’s no way to examine the evidence. But examining their testimony using the AI software… that’s something fresh.

But add that in with all the other aspects, and he felt, “those who are on the fence or knew nothing about it are going to be blown away” while watching the series.

2. Was he surprised by any of the AI lie detection reveals?

I’d screened the first episode, so I knew one of the reveals about the AI analysis even surprised him. But I wondered if it changed his thinking, or if he was still sort of skeptical.

He didn’t want to give too much away, but he did admit having reservations about the Plains of San Augustin wreckage. It was a second plane that had been reported where the witnesses said they’d seen alien bodies and had also interacted with the beings.

However, he’d always been dubious of their testimony. Mainly because the witnesses had been so young. How reliable and credible were they really? The AI provided some surprising insights that made him reevaluate discounting the witnesses.

3. Being so well-read on the subject of Roswell, did he learn anything new while working on this series?

Yes.

He explained how there’s so much to know when studying ufology. Most researchers focus on one thing and end up finding their niche. So you end up with people who dedicate their lives to one incident, like Roswell or the Kecksburg UFO, etc.

Turns out he was reminded of stories he’d read but had forgotten. He commended the series for summarizing all of the stories and traveling down the various avenues that it did to track down witnesses. For instance, a nurse who saw some of the bodies and a mortician who was dating the nurse.

As he put it, rumors aren’t just rumors if you can substantiate them with eyewitness accounts.

4. Who does he think Roswell: the Final Verdict appeal to? And will it change any minds?

In “Who Will Like ‘Roswell: The Final Verdict’ and Who Won’t?” I ended with a section titled “The Verdict on Roswell: The Final Verdict.”

I wrote how believers will feel vindicated, the curious will be entertained, and on-the-fencers may be swayed. But what about the skeptics? I summed up what Ben Hansen had to say about them, which was essentially “don’t waste your time.” But here’s what he actually said:

The true ardent skeptics…um, there’s not much you can do for them. They will always…even if a UFO landed on their lawn and the occupants came out and talked to them, they’re still going to find some way. Because there are people who have a paradigm perspective or some belief system that’s so strong in their minds that it’s almost like it would be the death of them if they were to admit. Some of them kind of build up a fake sort of opposition to it because I think deep down they do believe. But again, there’s something they’d have to give up if they believe. So those people I don’t think you’re ever really going to change.

The people who are on the fence and are open-minded, for sure. This, I think, is kind of the perfect introduction to Roswell and you’re going to have a lot of people coming out of it saying, “Whoa. I had no idea there were that many witnesses. I had no idea that they actually talked to the people who took the debris. I had no idea that there were people, actually, more than one, who give the same descriptions of these beings and that we know where the debris went.”

To me, that blows people away because they haven’t picked up a book. And yet here it’s sliced and diced and delivered on a platter for them. And they can sit back and enjoy the re-creations, look at the evidence, and look at it being weighed. I think a lot of people are hungry for this now. Especially after the UFO report. So what better way to spend your Fourth of July weekend?”

5. Will there ever be an AI lie detector app? Should there ever be?

To my surprise, this question made Ben chuckle.

He thought it’d be a good idea, but probably not a practical one just based on how the software works.

Listen to the Episode

For More Info

Visit discoveryplus.com.

Check-In

Are you a Roswell believer, on-the-fencer, or skeptic?

I’m an on-the-fencer, who leans more towards believing, but I’m still not all the way there. Nope. Not even after seeing some of Roswell: The Final Verdict!

But it was lovely to talk with Ben Hansen about it all. Especially because he was very gracious with my scattered approach to questioning. But mostly because he’s well-spoken and interviews are always more fun with people who naturally open up.