US Department of Homeland Security looking for (more than) a few good drones

I know this is going to sound like hyperbole, and I apologize, but I believe that the networked computer is a bigger danger to mankind than nuclear weapons. We are completely destroying the innate quality that we've had as humans since we came out of the trees - anonymity and privacy.<p>I'm not saying technology is bad; I'm no Luddite. But we are entering places in our societal structures that we've never been before even in the strictest police states. Maybe it's grumpy old guy day again, but I do not feel that this is going to turn out well over the long run.<p>ADD: Of all the things I thought 20 years ago that I might be concerned about in the 2010s, "swarms of flying robots able to watch and record my every move" was not one of them. The future is not only stranger than you imagine; it is stranger than you <i>can</i> imagine. And that's just robotic drone surveillance. There's a dozen other networked technology devices that are much more worrying.

That's federal level. State and local police are already shopping and some are already working with local military bases to use theirs.<p>All warrantless, no oversight. The mission creep is going to be scary.<p>They'll have to find a way to justify their incredible expense for the 99% of time they would be idle, so imagine the equal to speeding ticket quotas that will emerge.

I was at a law enforcement show this week and drones were the big new thing. Most were either quadcopters with GoPros while others looked like mini helicopters with PTZ cameras strapped to them.<p>Better funded departments are starting to test them out, but the demand from local police still isn't quite there. They require obtaining a special FAA license and lots of training, which makes the sales cycles on drones long and unattractive to vendors selling one at a time to local PDs.<p>Still though, their pitch is: "A helicopter flight cost is $450/hr. A drone is $14." Saving PDs the cost of flying a drone to/over an accident scene is more the draw than snooping into buildings.

There are many perfectly good uses for drones, but we all know the regulatory oversight will be completely negligent and insufficient.<p>It's in light of that that I have to wonder whether drones should just be vilified altogther.

Excellent podcast on the ethics of automated systems deployed by military, LEOs, etc. featuring Noel Sharkey:<p><a href="http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/print/6600" rel="nofollow">http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/print/6600</a><p>From the teaser:<p>"Noel Sharkey is Professor of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, and Professor of Public Engagement at the University of Sheffield. He holds a Doctorate in Experimental Psychology and a Doctorate of Science, and lectures extensively across academic disciplines, including engineering, philosophy, psychology, cognitive science, linguistics, artificial intelligence and computer science. In addition to having published well over a hundred academic articles and books, Sharkey has worked closely with policy makers and the military to create awareness about the limitations of AI and the dangers of automated warfare."

I was watching a documentary the other day about border smuggling - surely it's only a matter of time before drones are used for that, in which case what hope has domestic law enforcement got if they don't go down the same path.

Speaking of drones:<p><a href="http://www.theage.com.au/technology/technology-news/drone-finds-dummy-bushwalker-in-worldfirst-20121005-273lv.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.theage.com.au/technology/technology-news/drone-fi...</a>

Obligatory book recommendation: <a href="http://www.amazon.de/Kill-Decision-Daniel-Suarez/dp/0525952616" rel="nofollow">http://www.amazon.de/Kill-Decision-Daniel-Suarez/dp/05259526...</a>

The scariest thing about drones is that if both sides have drones, the winning strategy would seem to be in having millions of cheap drones directed by the sort of algorithms currently used in high frequency trading. Putting humans in the decision making loop for all of those just slows them down and vastly increases the expense and manpower requirements.

UK already has these for police. The Merseyside Police managed to ditch one of theirs into a lake. <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-15520279" rel="nofollow">http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-15520279</a>