Mercedes is developing a drone service for package deliveries, farmers are checking the growth of their crops with drones and in Dubai the winners of the ‘World Drone Prix’, a drone-racing contest, were handed out $1 million in prize money. Drones are not just expensive army-equipment anymore, in fact, they are becoming a bigger part of our modern society. Of course, we all know about the ‘cool stuff’ drones can do, and that it is incredibly fun to fly one, but because drones are a completely new phenomenon they also rise a lot of questions. What happens when we get to the point where drones are flying everywhere, how about the downsides?
Most drones today have camera’s on board and some are able to zoom in from an impressive height. With drones everywhere it might feel as if someone is always watching you. Not only will the camera’s on the drones get better and better, the drones will also get smaller. The smallest drone at the moment is smaller than a tennis ball and eventually drones will get as small as a mosquito. What will this mean for our privacy?
Not only do drones raise concerns about our privacy, but also about our safety. Drones form a serious problem for prisons because they are often used to smuggle drugs and weapons into the prisons. In march this year, prisoners in the UK have even tried to use a drone to help them escape out of prison. Drones form a serious and increasing problem during big events, such as the Olympic Games, as well. The public must be protected from drones that are flown by groups such as terrorists, protestors and vandals, but how can we protect ourselves from these drones?
During the Olympic Games the biggest drone maker in the world, DJI, collaborated with the Brazilian military by putting up temporary restrictions in their drones, keeping them from flying in airspace around sports arenas in six Brazilian city’s. However, during the opening ceremony three drones flying over the arena triggered a security panic. Despite their extreme security measures the Brazilian security failed to keep the drones away from the stadium.
The use of jamming devices could have made the drones lose connectivity with the controller, which would have caused the drones to hover to the ground. However, this is not what any security wants, three potentially dangerous drones landing on the ground in a completely packed arena. The Dutch police has thought of another way to protect ourselves from drones. They have been training eagles to see the drones as their prey and as from 11 September 2016 the birds are indeed being used as protection from drones. However, experts argue that the birds of prey are not strong enough to disable most drones.
Then how can we protect ourselves from drones? This, together with the questions and concerns about our privacy regarding drones, is a question that has not yet completely been answered, and one we surely have to think about. Therefore we have to be cautious around drones and the regulation of drones until we know more. If drones are to be regarded as fun, or as dangerous, has yet to be seen.
Sources:
http://www.nu.nl/gadgets/4318178/mercedes-benz-toont-futuristisch-busje-met-ingebouwde-bezorgdrones.html
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/sep/14/drone-racing-the-new-sport-that-could-go-sky-high
https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2016/09/15/de-arend-krijgt-hulp-van-anti-drones-4291055-a1521486
http://boingboing.net/2016/09/12/the-worlds-smallest-camera-d.html
https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2016/09/01/aantal-incidenten-met-drones-stijgt-flink-a1518951
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3501303/Prisoners-tried-escape-getting-DRONE-fly-pair-bolt-cutters-mobile-phone-drugs-jail.html
DJI puts temporary restrictions on its drones in Brazil during the Olympic Games in Rio
http://www.theverge.com/2016/8/8/12402972/olympics-rio-2016-anti-drone-jamming-public-safety
Hi Felix,
I can see where you are coming from and I definitely think that we should be really cautious regarding privacy and safety concerns. On the other hand though, they could be really helpful in our society. At this moment, the distribution of health care is quite uneven. Developing countries do not get their fair share of resources and so far there has not been a good solution for that. For instance, a cargo-carrying drone service could be used to deliver medical supplies at rural areas. Drones are the perfect way to deliver DNA samples as they are lightweight and have no commercial value for thieves. By doing this, a lot of lives could be saved.
Hey,
Another interesting concern to raise is the shift in jobs. A lot of traditional work will be replaced by higher-educated jobs. A lot of these high-educated jobs do not require teams of employees to work within the same building. Drones could also be used as a substitute for individuals in certain circumstances. Not working within the same building and substituting individuals for drones can increase the levels of perceived isolation in the employees that are not themselves present (Cooper & Kurland, 2002). In addition, monitoring via drones could have negative psychological impacts on employees and could even lead to cyber paranoia which is defined as “unrealistic fears concerning threats via technologies whereby individuals perceive themselves to be open to be ‘attacked,’ persecuted or victimized in some way” (Mason, Stevenson, & Freedman, 2014, p.1).
Cooper, C. D., & Kurland, N. B. (2002). Telecommuting, professional isolation, and employee development in public and private organizations. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 511-532.
Mason, O. J., Stevenson, C., & Freedman, F. (2014). Ever-present threats from information technology: the Cyber-Paranoia and Fear Scale. Front Psychology, 1-6.