Drones in America
Drones in America
When most Americans are first introduced to the word “drone”—an unmanned remote-controlled aircraft—the first thing that generally comes to mind is a stereotypical sci-fi thriller in which technology is used as a form of oppression. Whether it be from the fear that the government is watching their every move or the negative associations drones have with military use, many Americans are not altogether comfortable with the idea of drones. The reality is that drones will soon become a part of daily life whether Americans are ready or not. Before opening the skies to drones, however, legislators must first consider ways to keep the skies as safe as possible and to make the public comfortable with the idea of seeing drones become a part of everyday life.
One of the main reasons the public is not completely comfortable with domestic drones is they see it as an invasion of privacy. The reality is that privacy is becoming obsolete. With rapidly evolving technologies such as surveillance cameras, background checks, and even social networking sites, it is almost impossible to claim that one can ever be in complete privacy. As Brad Allenby, author of “The Golden Age of Privacy Is Over,” states, “Ethical and cultural assessments of technologies need to be part of the technology development process from the beginning, not called in at the last moment when battles are, if not lost, far more contentious than might have been necessary.” The loss of privacy that drones might seem to cause is little more than what privacy is already lost. Before it can be argued that drones would infringe upon a person’s privacy, legislators must first clearly define and convey to the public what the guidelines for privacy really are in American and accordingly create laws regarding drones.
Other laws legislators would have to consider passing would be laws that keep the skies safe. Precautions have already been made with licensing requirements for drone operators. According to Time Magazine, “…flying a drone for purposes other than recreation requires a certificate from the FAA, and those certificates are hard to come by” (Grossman 3). But with homeland security drones being hacked midflight, factors such as hijacking and hacking must also be weighed (Grossman 4). Legislators need to be sure that the public is safe from potential hijacking of drones that could turn out to be terrorist attacks.
Besides the possible threats that drones may cause, they could also be used beneficially in a domestic setting. Chris Anderson, editor of Wired Magazine, states that the use of drones in farming would be beneficial to farmers due to the amount of money and time they would save if they were able to monitor and tend their crops with drones (qtd. in Pauker). Drew Healy, author of “Game of Drones,” also reports that “law enforcement agencies already have access to some 146 commercial drones…” While the use of law enforcement drones would make it easier for law enforcement officials to find people who are committing crimes, it also calls into question what kind of footage would be able to be used to convict a person of a crime. Legislators have started to address this issue by introducing bills that ensure footage cannot be gathered as evidence without a warrant, however further consideration must be taken to ensure that drones will be used according to constitutional rights (Healy).