The big news is that more drones will be flying over you next year. The bigger news is that Google, not Big Brother, will be flying these drones. More accurately, Google will own the drones, but we are not really sure who will be flying them. Why does Google need unmanned, remote-controlled drones? The same reason Big Brother does: To take pictures of me and you, your property, your city, your state, and so on. Yes, Google will be in the drone business, adding their drones to the crowded skies and the unknown safety hazards these drones pose to commercial air safety (i.e. yours and mine!).
I suppose Google will save millions of dollars over the years by using drones instead of automobile-based technicians to map the world. No doubt drone-generated maps will be much more accurate because there will be no guess work about closed roads, inaccessible property, or remote geographical features. There is one more NEW thing that drones will allow Google to do: Take pictures of you and me in "real time." Here is where the Google drone program begins to rub me a little...wrong. You see, Google has been known to cooperate with "the authorities" in the past, revealing personal information when requested. I have no strong belief that Google will not do the same with its drones. After all, "the authorities" could make life difficult for Google.
Let me say here that, assuming safety issues were ironed out, I believe Google's use of drones to map the world is in itself a legitimate and harmless idea. My problem with this coming trend is that Google leadership has already made it know that they will be using the drones to photograph (and record?) people in real time. One thing Google suggests drones will be useful for is assisting in locating people during disasters. Another use for drones would be as "atmospheric satellites" to spread the Internet to regions of the world where it is not practical to build land-based Internet facilities. Again, harmless uses for new technology.
But there is still the gnawing feeling in my gut that Google drones are just another "brick in the wall" as Pink Floyd said many years ago. If Google builds a network of flying drones, it is not a stretch of the imagination to envision the benign government of ours one day ordering Google to allow federal agencies to use the Google fleet. Or, in another vein of thought, it is not a huge stretch to see Google offering for sale sensitive information inadvertently gained by drones as they video the earth below. Perhaps, to forestall government intervention, Google might even voluntarily hand over to the government such information.
Google is not the only "social media" eager to acquire drones. Facebook is in the process of buying a drone company in Great Britain. Facebook has some of the same goals in mind as Google. For instance, Facebook is racing with Google to bring the Internet to remote locations, thus garnering a share of the market that would have gone to Google. Again, what Facebook is proposing is a legitimate use of drones, but like Google, it is a short step for Facebook to go from legitimate use to clandestine use of drones.
I am all for the use of drones in certain limited and appropriate situations, but it is clear that by 2015 the skies will be filled with drones of all shapes and sizes, and belonging to government agencies and private enterprises. Air traffic controllers have a difficult time with the crowded skies today. I am not convinced that they can safely watch all the airplanes AND all the drones ALL THE TIME. The drone operators themselves will have a great responsibility in keeping their drones on flight plan and away from airplanes operating in close proximity to the drones. But, between the increased hazards in the skies, and the increased use of drones to track you and me, I am not sure that I like "private drones" flying around anymore than those operated by Big Brother. To you that may have decided to sit on your property and wait for drones to fly by so you can shoot them down, just remember, you may be damaging Google's property instead of Big Brother's.
I suppose Google will save millions of dollars over the years by using drones instead of automobile-based technicians to map the world. No doubt drone-generated maps will be much more accurate because there will be no guess work about closed roads, inaccessible property, or remote geographical features. There is one more NEW thing that drones will allow Google to do: Take pictures of you and me in "real time." Here is where the Google drone program begins to rub me a little...wrong. You see, Google has been known to cooperate with "the authorities" in the past, revealing personal information when requested. I have no strong belief that Google will not do the same with its drones. After all, "the authorities" could make life difficult for Google.
Let me say here that, assuming safety issues were ironed out, I believe Google's use of drones to map the world is in itself a legitimate and harmless idea. My problem with this coming trend is that Google leadership has already made it know that they will be using the drones to photograph (and record?) people in real time. One thing Google suggests drones will be useful for is assisting in locating people during disasters. Another use for drones would be as "atmospheric satellites" to spread the Internet to regions of the world where it is not practical to build land-based Internet facilities. Again, harmless uses for new technology.
But there is still the gnawing feeling in my gut that Google drones are just another "brick in the wall" as Pink Floyd said many years ago. If Google builds a network of flying drones, it is not a stretch of the imagination to envision the benign government of ours one day ordering Google to allow federal agencies to use the Google fleet. Or, in another vein of thought, it is not a huge stretch to see Google offering for sale sensitive information inadvertently gained by drones as they video the earth below. Perhaps, to forestall government intervention, Google might even voluntarily hand over to the government such information.
Google is not the only "social media" eager to acquire drones. Facebook is in the process of buying a drone company in Great Britain. Facebook has some of the same goals in mind as Google. For instance, Facebook is racing with Google to bring the Internet to remote locations, thus garnering a share of the market that would have gone to Google. Again, what Facebook is proposing is a legitimate use of drones, but like Google, it is a short step for Facebook to go from legitimate use to clandestine use of drones.
I am all for the use of drones in certain limited and appropriate situations, but it is clear that by 2015 the skies will be filled with drones of all shapes and sizes, and belonging to government agencies and private enterprises. Air traffic controllers have a difficult time with the crowded skies today. I am not convinced that they can safely watch all the airplanes AND all the drones ALL THE TIME. The drone operators themselves will have a great responsibility in keeping their drones on flight plan and away from airplanes operating in close proximity to the drones. But, between the increased hazards in the skies, and the increased use of drones to track you and me, I am not sure that I like "private drones" flying around anymore than those operated by Big Brother. To you that may have decided to sit on your property and wait for drones to fly by so you can shoot them down, just remember, you may be damaging Google's property instead of Big Brother's.
No comments:
Post a Comment