Alien life probably exists. Intelligent life is probably rare. We will probably never meet any. Unless we overcome some serious flaws in our self-destructive behavior and somehow manage to science our way out of the prison of our solar system, we will remain completely reliant on them to find us before we go extinct.

I do not believe aliens have visited us. Making the blind assumption that they DID, I find it preposterous to believe that they would somehow crash land on our little rock after mastering interstellar travel.

Aliens interacting with our government would be hard to miss.

What would motivate them?

• Charity/Goodwill Have you seen our government? If this is the best we can manage with the help of aliens, we are FUUUUUUUCKED. Surely with the influence of such advanced beings, we could overcome our need to murder each other over skin pigmentation?

• Profit What could they possibly need from us? Countless planets contain the same materials found here. Aliens certainly don't need us for labor. (They would have AI smarter than us.)

At that stage in a species' development, I can see no reason for them to interact with us in such ways. Boredom maybe? This is the only explanation I can think of, but how much time do you spend in your backyard staring at ants?