4 ms·

Draganfly and ‘pandemic drone’ pilot studies in the U.S.

20 points by colinprince 7y ago

falcor84 7y ago
"By April 23, the Westport pilot was dead" was a really poor choice of words. It took me a few times to reread that paragraph and assure myself that it's just the experimental rollout that was cancelled.
- foobarbecue 7y ago
  Me too! They could at least have said "pilot project. "
Ididntdothis 7y ago
This stuff makes me very nervous. Together with the contact tracing apps we'll have total surveillance wherever we go.
- jszymborski 7y ago
  The key to this sort of thing is to make sure that the legal use of these kinds of powers/tools by the gov't be extended by representatives at the federal and local levels on a regular basis.
  - godelski 7y ago
    Or how about completely encrypt and use decentralized and anonymous systems so that it can't be abused?
  - antsar 7y ago
    That sounds great. How do we "make sure"?
    - jszymborski 7y ago
      It depends on the country, but the gist in Western democracies is usually "make it law" so that it can be enforced by the courts. It's why I took care to say "legal" use, as there'll always be abuses. The legal system just gives a chance (not a guarantee) of accountability.
      - grawprog 7y ago
        That's gone so well in recent decades. Maybe they can use the patriot act as a model. That's only ever been used for its intended purposes and any rights violations that have occured under it have always been justly defended in courts.
        jszymborski 7y ago
        The USA PATRIOT acts 4-year term was far too long, and the US senate voted to extend it after that lapsed. What you're taking issue with is your representation, not abuse by the executive branch or some shadow gov't. All I've said here is elect and advocate for programmes like this Draganfly to have very small windows, and require extension by elected officials. I don't think this is something you or grandparent comment are opposed to, is it?
        grawprog 7y ago
        I'll agree if they must exist that would be arguably the least evil of said options, but you'd have to convince me that mass surveillance using flying machines, in the name of 'public safety' is a thing i should be positive about in general first. As it is, my attitude towards military and police drones is fairly cold. This might as well be some horrible dystopian sci-fi shit as far as i'm concerned.
  - spaginal 7y ago
    That doesn’t prevent abuse. We see how these programs live on forever in government. FISA courts are extended every time the vote comes up, and like or hate Trump, it was abused as a political tool instead of a law enforcement tool. Patriot Act was meant to sunset, now it’s a forever law that will be rubber stamped every time. We know data surveillance laws are being abused in their application right now, and then we add in mass physical surveillance and requiring them to extend it is some protection? Ha!
laptq10 7y ago
"The Vital Intelligence Project can help estimate the distances between people, but it can also monitor temperatures, heart rates, and respiratory rates of individuals in crowds and workforces." So essentially, these are cattle helicopters for humans. The amount of outright assholes in the "tech" industry is alarming.
- Ididntdothis 7y ago
  I remember the movie and book “1984” where people were constantly monitored by all available means, and voila, we are rapidly getting there. Having helicopters and drones watching everything we do is seriously creepy and us tech people are happily supporting it.

20 points by colinprince 7y ago

"By April 23, the Westport pilot was dead" was a really poor choice of words. It took me a few times to reread that paragraph and assure myself that it's just the experimental rollout that was cancelled.

foobarbecue 7y ago
Me too! They could at least have said "pilot project. "

Ididntdothis 7y ago

This stuff makes me very nervous. Together with the contact tracing apps we'll have total surveillance wherever we go.

jszymborski 7y ago
The key to this sort of thing is to make sure that the legal use of these kinds of powers/tools by the gov't be extended by representatives at the federal and local levels on a regular basis.
- godelski 7y ago
  Or how about completely encrypt and use decentralized and anonymous systems so that it can't be abused?
- antsar 7y ago
  That sounds great. How do we "make sure"?
  - jszymborski 7y ago
    It depends on the country, but the gist in Western democracies is usually "make it law" so that it can be enforced by the courts. It's why I took care to say "legal" use, as there'll always be abuses. The legal system just gives a chance (not a guarantee) of accountability.
    - grawprog 7y ago
      That's gone so well in recent decades. Maybe they can use the patriot act as a model. That's only ever been used for its intended purposes and any rights violations that have occured under it have always been justly defended in courts.
      - jszymborski 7y ago
        The USA PATRIOT acts 4-year term was far too long, and the US senate voted to extend it after that lapsed. What you're taking issue with is your representation, not abuse by the executive branch or some shadow gov't. All I've said here is elect and advocate for programmes like this Draganfly to have very small windows, and require extension by elected officials. I don't think this is something you or grandparent comment are opposed to, is it?
        grawprog 7y ago
        I'll agree if they must exist that would be arguably the least evil of said options, but you'd have to convince me that mass surveillance using flying machines, in the name of 'public safety' is a thing i should be positive about in general first. As it is, my attitude towards military and police drones is fairly cold. This might as well be some horrible dystopian sci-fi shit as far as i'm concerned.
- spaginal 7y ago
  That doesn’t prevent abuse. We see how these programs live on forever in government. FISA courts are extended every time the vote comes up, and like or hate Trump, it was abused as a political tool instead of a law enforcement tool. Patriot Act was meant to sunset, now it’s a forever law that will be rubber stamped every time. We know data surveillance laws are being abused in their application right now, and then we add in mass physical surveillance and requiring them to extend it is some protection? Ha!

laptq10 7y ago

"The Vital Intelligence Project can help estimate the distances between people, but it can also monitor temperatures, heart rates, and respiratory rates of individuals in crowds and workforces." So essentially, these are cattle helicopters for humans. The amount of outright assholes in the "tech" industry is alarming.

Ididntdothis 7y ago
I remember the movie and book “1984” where people were constantly monitored by all available means, and voila, we are rapidly getting there. Having helicopters and drones watching everything we do is seriously creepy and us tech people are happily supporting it.