2025_UAP_Workshop_Paper.pdf

2025 UAP Workshop: 
Narrative Data, Infrastructures, and Analysis 
Workshop Synthesis and Recommendations 
August 5-6, 2025 
Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI) 
Workshop sponsored by: 
All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) 
26-P-0344

Table of Contents Executive SUMMALY ........ ce eecceceecceesseceesseceessecesaeceesuecessaecesaaeceeaeeceeaeecseaeeceeaeeceeeeceaeeeceeeeeseeeenaeeeaas 2 Introduction and Purpose ..........:ccecseceesseceesseceessecestecsesaeceeaaeceeaeecseneecseaeeceeaeeceaeeceeeeceueeeeneeeesaeeeeaas 3 About the Workshop ..........ccccccsscceesseceesseceeseceesaecessuecesaaecesaaeceeaeecseneeceeaeeceaeeceaeeceaeeeceaeeeeneeeesaeeeenas 3 Establishing open dialogue ..........ceccceeeseceesseceeseceeaecesseecesaceceeaeeceeneecseneecseaeececeeceeeeseeeeeseeeeaees 4 Workshop Summary ..........cccccecsscceessecee…

2
Executive Summary 
From both government and scientific perspectives, advancing Unidentified Anomalous 
Phenomena (UAP) research requires rigorous data collection, standardization, and analysis.  
Most UAP reports are fragmented, sparse, and unstructured, ranging from military logs and pilot 
reports to archival records, social media posts, and civilian testimony. Interpreting this 
heterogeneous data at scale is complicated by barriers of classification, translation, and retention. 
At the same time, UAP reports also present opportunities for novel methods of integration, 
metadata design, a…

3
Introduction and Purpose 
Understanding the nature of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) has emerged in recent 
years as a pressing area of inquiry in need of rigorous scientific approaches, as well as cross-
disciplinary, cross-sector and international collaboration. Analyzing reports of UAP related 
sightings and experiences presents unique challenges due to the large-scale, heterogeneous, and 
qualitative nature of the reports originating from military and civilian sources. These reports 
typically lack standardized metadata, making comparative analysis difficult. Additionally, the 
i…

4
Outside participation was limited due to budget constraints and institutional capacity. Potential 
participants were identified based on demonstrated expertise in one or more of the following 
areas: AI and machine learning; UAP research and data; physical and natural sciences; 
information and data science; archives and records; analysis methods; cyberinfrastructure and 
computation; and human and social sciences.  
If an invitee declined to attend, we extended an invitation to another candidate with similar 
skills/experience identified through online research and word of mouth. The final …

5
August 5, 2025 began with a plenary talk, followed by the first panel discussion, “Opportunities 
and challenges with AI”, and a second breakout session (“Pathways for data analysis and 
interpretation at scale”). Day 1 concluded with a brief whole group discussion. A workshop 
dinner was held at a restaurant near the workshop venue. Day 2 began with a second plenary talk 
and second panel discussion, “Harmonizing qualitative and quantitative perspectives on narrative 
data.”  After lunch, a series of lightning talks were delivered by participants ahead of the final 
breakout session (“Clean…

6
analysis with the data collected, as well as potential improvement of the form. The discussion led 
to the following overarching suggestions that are broadly informative for online UAP reporting 
tools.  
1. Intake flow and structure:
•
Begin with a free-text box (and optional audio upload) where the witness provides their
account in their own words. Use AI-assisted extraction to propose structured fields,
which the witness can then confirm or correct.
•
Frame questions around what was perceived (angular size, shape, movement, sound,
effects) rather than presumed properties (exact distance, …

7
•
Design the schema so reports can be linked to FAA/NASA Aviation Safety Reporting
System (ASRS) data, Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) flight
tracks, weather radar, astronomical databases, fireball networks, etc.
•
Enable dynamic follow-ups for multiple objects, multiple witnesses, or sequential events.
6. Governance and trust:
•
Give reporters clear control over what information (such as geolocation, photo metadata)
is shared publicly.
•
Commit to aggregated, de-identified data releases (maps, trend summaries) to build trust
without encouraging hoaxes.
•
Light-touch well-…