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The chief concern that I can think of with a remote-controlled weapon is that it derealizes the person on the other end of the barrel, and derealizes the operat
by woodruffw 4y ago
The chief concern that I can think of with a remote-controlled weapon is that it derealizes the person on the other end of the barrel, and derealizes the operation of the weapon. It's easier to kill someone when the action is disconnected from the physics.
Compare, for example, the US using video game controllers to pilot drones in Afghanistan. One wonders how many botched drone missions wouldn't have been performed in the first place had the operators been physically present in the areas they were attacking.
- chrisseaton 4y ago> One wonders how many botched drone missions wouldn't have been performed in the first place had the operators been physically present in the areas they were attacking. They wouldn’t be any more connected to the people if they were in a secure US camp in country, I think.
- woodruffw 4y ago> They wouldn’t be any more connected to the people if they were in a secure US camp in country, I think. I meant in the field, but I take your point -- drones generally have this "problem" (arguably a strength in the military's eyes). Maybe the better comparison is any degree of drone strikes, versus having to send a bunch of troops into a town.
- chrisseaton 4y agoI think drone operators actually notoriously experience high levels of PTSD compared to other operators, but can’t find a source right now.
- woodruffw 4y agoI absolutely believe that, and I think the two are absolutely connected: drone operators aren't stupid, and the dissemblement the drone provides is traumatizing in its own way.