The Impact of Secrecy on National Security and Scientific Progress
Please note that the following column appeared in the March 3, 2024 digital edition of the Roswell Daily Record and is republished with permission.
By Kevin Wright
The Invention Secrecy Act of 1951 is a silent sentinel when navigating the intricate dance between safeguarding national security and fostering scientific innovation. While the Act has played a crucial role in protecting sensitive information, its impact on scientific study and technological advancement for the public good warrants a thorough examination.
The Invention Secrecy Act, crafted during the Cold War, grants the US government the authority to impose secrecy orders on patent applications, shielding potentially sensitive technologies from public view. The intention is clear: compulsory secrecy prevents adversaries from exploiting military and defense-related innovations. However, this well-intentioned approach has faced criticism for acting as a double-edged sword, potentially stifling scientific progress, discouraging research and development, eradicating follow-on innovation, restricting commercialization, and ultimately, hindering “knowledge disclosure” that could benefit society.
The true impact of the Secrecy Act is unknown. However, according to the Federation of American Scientists, we do know that as of the end of FY 2023, “there were 6,155 secrecy orders in effect.” This staggering number underscores the breadth of the government’s influence on innovation.
The debate surrounding the Invention Secrecy Act needs to extend beyond terrestrial technologies to include the enigmatic realm of unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP). Reports of encounters with objects displaying inexplicable flight characteristics with potentially unconventional propulsion systems have fueled speculation that the government may be hiding a nonhuman intelligence (NHI) and technologies of unknown origin (TUO) by way of crash retrieval (CR) and reverse engineering (RE) programs. The secrecy surrounding UAP has further intensified concerns about the potential hindrance to scientific understanding and technological advancement.
The parallels between the secrecy surrounding UAPs and that dictated by the Invention Secrecy Act raise intriguing questions about the extent to which the government may impede scientific progress. If there are technologies beyond our current comprehension, their concealment could hamper progress in fields ranging from propulsion systems to materials science, significantly limiting potential benefits for the public.
The Scientific Coalition for UAP Studies (SCU), a nonprofit organization comprised of scientists, engineers, members of the high-tech and defense industries, former military, and other professionals, previously petitioned Congress, specifically the US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, to release more information on UAP to the scientific community.
“The SCU believes that it is time to initiate rigorous, scientific analysis of all available UAP data in the hands of the government to gain a better scientific understanding of potentially exotic technologies and the physics involved,” Robert Powell, co-founder of SCU, told me. “Of course, this has to be done in a way that respects our national security,” Powell concluded. (Full disclosure: I am an advisor to SCU’s Board of Directors.)
While national security concerns are paramount, it is crucial to strike a balance that safeguards the nation while fostering a climate where innovation flourishes and benefits society. Proposals for reform gain newfound relevance in the context of the expansive scope of the Invention Secrecy Act and deeply buried Special Access Programs (SAP), where government funding allegedly flows to aerospace defense contractors working on tightly guarded UAP materials.
Independent oversight committees of the inventions and patents process could ensure transparency and accountability, preventing unnecessary delays in the public’s access to transformative technologies. Through hearings or a Select Committee, Congress could provide government disclosure and transparency on UAP and establish similar oversight capabilities of technologies of unknown origin and exotic materials.
The need for a nuanced approach becomes even more apparent as we enter the future. Including UAPs in the discourse adds a layer of complexity to the conversation about secrecy and its impact on scientific understanding. Striking the proper equilibrium requires ongoing dialogue, reform, and a commitment to ensuring that the cloak of secrecy does not impede the advancement of knowledge, science, and technology for the greater good. The statistics on the number of patents subjected to secrecy orders underscore the urgency of reevaluating and refining the current system to ensure that national security and scientific progress coexist harmoniously. The same is true for the government’s UAP secrets.