If Aliens Were Watching... How Would They Control Us? | Unveiled

If Aliens Were Watching… How Would They Control Us?

Whether we’re searching for divine powers or for extra-terrestrial intelligence, humans have always wanted to believe that there’s something more than ourselves. That life on Earth isn’t a fluke and that there’s something else beyond our planet and solar system. We constantly ask; what’s really happening?

So, this is Unveiled, and today we’re answering the extraordinary question; if aliens were watching… how would they control us?

The Fermi paradox is the discrepancy between the statistical likelihood that alien life exists… and the lack of evidence for it. One possible solution to the paradox, however, is the “zoo hypothesis”. It argues that aliens do exist but that they keep themselves hidden. And that planet Earth is in isolation, as though it were an exhibit in a zoo. One suggestion as to why this would be is that intelligent enough aliens know we’re here… but don’t want to interfere with us. At least, not until the time is right. Another interpretation, though, is that Earth is actually one giant experiment. That aliens know we’re here because they put us here.

The first is arguably the less concerning of the two, from our point of view. It says that alien watchers don’t want to disrupt life on Earth - much as a nature documentary film crew doesn’t interfere with whatever it is they’re filming. The aliens in the second option, though, aren’t quite so… well-meaning. Because, if Earth is an experiment, then we’re all the unwitting participants in it. And, unless you’ve seen the other side and have already encountered our alien overlords (and, if you have, we want to hear from you!) then who knows how much (or how little) alien intervention there is in life?

For the purposes of this video, we’re not claiming that aliens are (or, indeed, aren’t) watching us. But we are imagining it as one possibility, and we’re assessing various theories and ideas on how they could be doing so. Some are fun, some are frightening, and some are more farfetched than others.

First off… microchipping. The twenty-first century human knows that this type of tech exists, because we have it ourselves. Elon Musk’s Neuralink, for example, centres on a chip installed into someone’s brain so that they can directly interface with computers. And we’ve already had the first successful Neuralink recipient… when one was built into a pig, in 2020. But, really, Musk’s product is just the latest in a growing line, as now various companies are implanting RFID chips into the hands of their employees. But, for microchip critics, the technology has troubling repercussions… including personal privacy concerns, and that they make it possible to hack another person’s body. So, with all of this in mind, would aliens want to embed microchips inside us to track and learn everything they could? Wouldn’t it make sense to hack the human race, first and foremost?

This kind of thing is a sci-fi staple, but actually it’s perhaps doubtful that aliens - in the modern world - would need to go so far. If they really were watching us, then we’d already be giving them most of everything they’d need… thanks to our roughly five billion cell phone users. More than half the global population carries phones, and many of those phones carry some (or all) of the following; health data, location data, browser history, bank information, sleep routines, calendars, and a never-ending stream of messages and communication. So, imagine that you’re an alien with eyes on Earth… which is the easier option? Abducting an unsuspecting human, physically inserting a chip into them and wiping their memory afterwards? Or… hacking their smartphone? And which is easiest of the two to repeat again and again and again? If you’re already a technophobe then we apologise… and don’t worry. There is so far zero evidence that aliens really have hacked that thing in your pocket. It’s just one way of looking at how human society might be open to infiltration, if it ever happens.

But, even more broadly speaking, some believe that the very structure of human society, might be the true problem. The belief that elite and powerful figures somehow have more to them has persisted for hundreds of years. The divine right of kings in medieval Europe, for example, said that monarchs were placed on their thrones by God and that God was acting through them. Today, suggestions of a higher power often have a more sci-fi look about them. For one, we have the infamous reptilian conspiracy theory, proponents of which claim that various officials we believe to have been democratically elected… are actually placed into power by the alien/reptile race they also belong to.

For anyone subscribing to this particular worldview, because society depends on so many people being directed by so few in positions of power, this is how aliens are controlling us. Importantly, this particular theory has zero basis in fact and seems to mostly originate from 20th-century pulp magazines. But it has still gained a significant hold in society, with a 2013 poll finding that four percent of Americans, the equivalent of 12 million people if it accurately reflected the whole country, truly believe that political figures really are disguised lizards. But, forgetting the whole lizard thing for a second… if aliens were watching us, this kind of slow takeover could be one way to take control. So, it’s easy to see why these types of conspiracy often prove so popular.

But, then again, considering that so many people are at least aware of conspiracies like this, and because many are distrustful of politicians in general, maybe controlling world leaders and influencers actually isn’t the best way to go? Perhaps, if you’re one of our hypothetical alien surveyors, there’s a better means of control available… and one where you can go straight to source?

Mind control is another ever-present in sci-fi circles and conspiracy claims. And this one has roots in the idea that any alien race capable of watching us from afar would also be technologically far more advanced than we are… so why wouldn’t they have a mind control gun, or something like it? Imagine such a tool through the lens of the zoo hypothesis, and maybe the reason why we haven’t developed mind control tech yet is because our alien superiors are preventing us from gaining the knowledge. According to this view, we really are trapped. Forever limited to achieve only what our ET enforcers allow us to. Once again, this isn’t something with much by way of proof that it’s actually happening… but theorists would say; isn’t that exactly how the aliens would want it? For as long as we’re oblivious, we’re easier to control.

Another way humans know of to manipulate another person’s mind is hypnosis. So, naturally, we’ve had sci-fi stories before now where an alien species hypnotizes us. But, realistically, one-to-one mind manipulation would surely be too slow and tedious for any self-respecting alien race working on Earth’s entire population. Disturbingly, we have seen how mass mind control can take place instead, even in our own past. Project MKUltra is one of the more concerning and most notorious chapters in the history of the CIA. Most documents pertaining to it have now been destroyed, so no-one’s really sure how far the experiments went… but the basics of MKUltra are that, in the 1950s and ‘60s, the CIA reportedly conducted experiments on US citizens without consent, by drugging them with LSD and observing the effects. If it’s good enough for the Central Intelligence Agency, then, why not aliens as well? If extraterrestrials were watching, they’d perhaps soon work out that placing any kind of obedience-inducing substance in our food and water would offer a way to control literally everyone.

Finally, no discussion on hypothetical mass control is complete without mention of the simulation hypothesis. Regulars on our channel will know all about this idea, that life and Earth are actually a sim created and co-ordinated by something else on a higher plane. If you haven’t checked our playlist out, head there next!

But, in this particular application of it, the aliens are on the higher plane… and humans have no real agency of their own. This one’s different to all other methods of extraterrestrial control because it operates across multiple dimensions. The aliens aren’t just from another planet anymore, they’re from another reality. And so, unless we were to ever uncover the true nature of existence, the fact that we were being watched might forever pass us by. Until such day as the sim is switched off, or abandoned.

For now, we’re still on the fringes of the great unknown, and the Fermi Paradox still rules. Humankind has made very little impact on the wider universe, sticking to just our own planet and (very occasionally) our own moon. We’ve sent a small number of probes across the solar system, but nothing else. All while some studies predict that there could be hundreds of alien civilizations in just the Milky Way alone.

Would (or could) any of those want to watch us? Are we even of any concern to anyone else? Maybe, maybe not. But if they are watching, then there’s more than one way that they could go about controlling us, as well.