The introduction of drones into the military and their integration into society has made an impact. Some people have found other uses for drones that are more recreational or everyday, while some people fear the type of society we will become with the omniscient presence of drones watching our every move (Time Magazine). Drones have changed the face of war, but they have had a substantial impact on the home front as well.
Integrating drones into everyday life
Just think, if you really wanted to, you could borrow a drone from a company and use it for recreational purposes. That’s exactly what the Parrot Drone, officially known as AR.Drone 2.0, is used for, controlled with a simple app you can download on any smartphone (pictured left). The FAA wants to integrate drones into civilian airspace, but because drones crash frequently, this integration is delayed. Police could potentially use drones to study crime scenes, farmers could have them watching their fields, builders can use them to survey construction sites, Hollywood will use them to make movies, and even hobbyists will use them “just because they feel like it” (Time Magazine). There are also some current uses of drones today, like how US Customs and Border Patrol have been using Predators to monitor the Mexican border since 2005 (bottom left), and NASA used a Global Hawk to study Hurricane Nadine. Washington State’s wants to use drones for avalanche control, the US Department of Energy wants to use them to take air samples, and the Forest Service wants to use them to help fight fires. Internationally, Costa Rica wants to use drones to study volcanoes, Japan wants to use them to dust crops and track schools of tuna, and a nature preserve in Kenya is fundraising to pay for a drone to watch the endangered Northern White Rhino. One company, Matternet, wants to use drones to transport small items like medicine, which could increase efficiency in delivering items in general, not just medicine. One important example of drone usage in civilian lives is how police surveillance would work, because drones could possibly deliver pizzas across town and drugs across borders, or they’ll spot criminals on the run and naked celebrities in their homes. This new piece of technology, introduced as a weapon for war, has many potential future uses for the public, but if people aren't careful drones could be used as weapons on American soil too (Time Magazine).
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"You're dealing with someone who is both present and absent, who has decided that what they say or do will have consequences for you but not for them"
-Time Magazine
concerns about integration
While there are many innovative things the public could do with drones, they also instill fear in some people. Being watched by drones all the time is “an eerie, oppressive, somewhat annoying feeling,” and freaks people out, because for all they know the drones could either belong to al-Qaeda or their neighbors (Time Magazine). There’s this constant feeling of “I can see you, but you can’t see me,” which only adds to public concern and unease when the topic is mentioned. People know they’re being watched, but they also have no idea what happens to the data collected. As of 2013, “until legislation is passed, it won’t be clear what information the government can and cannot gather using drones” (Time Magazine). This uncertainty about an invasion of privacy is why some people are questioning the usage of drones among civilians. The other aspect of fear is that people constantly have to worry about mechanical errors in drones, because they fall out of the sky often. Some opinions about drones claim they are unreliable, lack a certain “sense-and-avoid” technology which would help to avoid collisions, and that they have lousy electronic security (Time Magazine).
The kill decision shouldn't belong to a robot
There are a few concerns with drones, some of which would probably worry the public if they knew about them or understood what this meant. For instance, it is possible to use electromagnetic jamming to sever the drone’s signal from the operator, thus hacking the drone and changing its course of action. If drones start to become really popular in America, and many people learned how to jam drone frequencies, there would essentially be a bunch of relatively expensive toy robots flying around the country. Another concern the public may have is the concept of plausible deniability, which is pushing the decision making process away from humans and onto the drones. Since anyone can send a drone to attack, there is no real way of knowing who sent the weapon, thus opening up the possibility of “anonymous war” (ted.com). Using these drones as "civilian drones" before the public is ready could impact how they respond to the drones. The public probably still sees drones as weapons, not machinery that can aid them in everyday tasks, meaning that switching views will impact the integration of drones into society. Even though there are concerns about unarmed civilian drones, there are also some of helpful uses for them too, including “environmental monitoring, search and rescue, logistics” (ted.com).
One of the ways society could successfully and safely integrate drones into everyday life could include some method of drone identification so each drone could be tracked down if needed. According to Daniel Suarez, “We have license plates on cars, tail numbers on aircraft. This is no different” (ted.com). Just like the Parrot drone was able to be controlled by a smartphone app (Time), all citizens should have access to a database or app that they can download with all the information regarding drones and autonomous vehicles nearby, whether it’s in the present or in the past. Including a set of civic drones and set of sensors around the country, civic drones could monitor for rogue drones, notifying humans first instead of chasing after them and shooting them down immediately. Integrating the drones into civic life either way is relatively similar to creating “more of an immune system than a weapon system” because society would be able to utilize drones and autonomous vehicles without fear of being attacked by these drones (ted.com).
One of the ways society could successfully and safely integrate drones into everyday life could include some method of drone identification so each drone could be tracked down if needed. According to Daniel Suarez, “We have license plates on cars, tail numbers on aircraft. This is no different” (ted.com). Just like the Parrot drone was able to be controlled by a smartphone app (Time), all citizens should have access to a database or app that they can download with all the information regarding drones and autonomous vehicles nearby, whether it’s in the present or in the past. Including a set of civic drones and set of sensors around the country, civic drones could monitor for rogue drones, notifying humans first instead of chasing after them and shooting them down immediately. Integrating the drones into civic life either way is relatively similar to creating “more of an immune system than a weapon system” because society would be able to utilize drones and autonomous vehicles without fear of being attacked by these drones (ted.com).