Are you afraid of drones?

[BronyPony 575]

After thinking about a project I am working on, someone said that the project might spread concern because of the fear for drones(not military ones) because of their association with warfare and the government. I am not afraid of non-military drones and I don't know why anyone should(besides that irrational fear of drones that comes from media hype).

 

Are you afraid of non-military drones? If so, why?

[Rainblow H. Ash 5,091]

What exactly do you mean by military drones in this context though? Do you count drones in the hands of law enforcement as military drones?

[BronyPony 575]

What exactly do you mean by military drones in this context though? Do you count drones in the hands of law enforcement as military drones?

I mean drones that are used for government purposes(federal purposes), if that is what you are asking.

[CMQuickfireTK 751]

if I can't shoot them down, or reprogram them, hell yes I'm scared.

[Twilight Dirac 721]

I actually want to turn the next RC plane I build into a drone.  I need to get around to building the RC plane first though.

[Shanks 10,817]

Yes I am, they can and have been abused to spy on citizens and it is not that much of a stretch to imagine them being taken even further than that the rampant police brutality and overall abuse of power by the police and federal agents. There should be serious restriction on how and when drones can be used especially on American soil.

[Rainblow H. Ash 5,091]

I mean drones that are used for government purposes(federal purposes), if that is what you are asking.

 

Thanks for clarification.

 

It's not a "fear" of drones that might make one against them in general use. It is a wariness of abuse and the power that a drone can wield.

 

As for private use, as long as I have protection in the form of me being able to pursue legal action against violation of rights by drone usage, such as if my neighbor flies one over my house and tries to film my property or something, I have no problem with it. Truth be told, I wish drones were never invented, for as much as good they could do, they have brought so much destruction already with them. The only thing that keeps me wary of drones is federal usage and usage of drones by massive corporations that have the shield of government protecting them.

[BronyPony 575]

if I can't shoot them down, or reprogram them, hell yes I'm scared.

The ones I am building will be controlled by the owner's smartphone or tablet. 

[CMQuickfireTK 751]

The ones I am building will be controlled by the owner's smartphone or tablet. 

 

can I hack that app then to change what I please?

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,167]

As it stands I have little to no fear of drones. Of abuse is possible; but that goes with just about everything from the internet & credit cards to the local grocery store.

[BronyPony 575]

can I hack that app then to change what I please?

That would a security problem with the smartphone or tablet, not the drone.

[Rainblow H. Ash 5,091]

The ones I am building will be controlled by the owner's smartphone or tablet. 

 

Use them to record law enforcement and you have my support.

[CMQuickfireTK 751]

That would a security problem with the smartphone or tablet, not the drone.

 

okay, the drone better be reprogrammable though.

[Jeric 46,894]

Borg Drones scare me, does that count? Amazon Drones would only scare me if they came with a package that I didn't order ... that recently happened.

 

Military Drones ... not really. That would be an irrational fear since I am more likely to die for choking on a ramen noodle. 

[SparklingSwirls 21,609]

I wouldn't say I'm scared of them, but I don't like them. (for the reasons mentioned above)

Edited July 17, 2014 by SparklingSwirls

[Steel Accord 6,660]

Non-military drones? Of course not.

 

The ones I've heard of will deliver the stuff I order online to my door. That's not scary, that's incredibly useful.

 

Military drones? Oh my yes!

 

From just a "me standpoint" I can't punch, kick, or slash them down and they are controlled by the government.

[M'aiq the Liar 5,804]

I am not afraid of drones in general, as like cars or firearms they are just tools.

What I fear is how they may be used. With the government already monitoring most people living in the US, arial drone survailance would be something to be very, very worried about, as the currently us government cannot even be trusted with cyber security, let alone filming my house from the air.

 

As for civilian use, as long as the normal privacy statutes are in place, then I have no worry as them filimg my house with a drone would warrent the same legal repercusions as doing it in person. (and it being a privately owned drone, the legality depending on state may allow me to "remove" the drone perminantly should it be on my propertiy)

[BronyPony 575]

Use them to record law enforcement and you have my support.

They can be used for that purpose.

[Rainblow H. Ash 5,091]

They can be used for that purpose.

 

Of course they can. But will they be used for that purpose? That's the question of the hour.

 

I'm sure you're just having fun with drones though, so have a blast with it. Just make sure not to do anything ignorant with them.

[BronyPony 575]

Of course they can. But will they be used for that purpose? That's the question of the hour.

 

I'm sure you're just having fun with drones though, so have a blast with it. Just make sure not to do anything ignorant with them.

I am asking because I am planning for them to be commercially available and they are personal drones. Therefore, will it causes concern to citizens?

[Admiral Regulus 2,769]

I actually want to turn the next RC plane I build into a drone.  I need to get around to building the RC plane first though.

 

Oh, the dilemmas. First world problems...

[Rainblow H. Ash 5,091]

I am asking because I am planning for them to be commercially available and they are personal drones. Therefore, will it causes concern to citizens?

 

You may face some push-back because there are fears about drones that are currently rising. I think what you could do to ease concerns if you are planning on selling them is informing potential customers about drones and educating them about their practical uses, as well as clarifying some legal points about them and what should and should not be done with them.

 

As much as I hate to admit it, drones are here to stay, and it's better that private drone use is addressed and kept within legal boundaries now rather than later. Government drones are of course a different story, so we'll leave them out of this.

[Invincible 2,092]

Admittedly, while i still think they are mostly used to spy and record people, i'm not really afraid of them. While some can be used for espionage, i think some can used for good, and this merits a change of opinion at least for some people. Amazon once stated they wish to make deliveries using drones, for instance (dunno if they'll ever go through with this plan, but it's an interesting thought).

[Simon 4,557]

Honestly, any technology can be misused.  If evil companies really wanted to spy on people, they'd use our cell phones... we carry around little devices in our pockets filled with cameras, gps locators, sound recording devices, and a ton of other tech that can be manipulated in nefarious ways.  On top of that we have satellites, computers, tablets, and all the other technology in our lives that can be manipulated.

 

But the reality of the situation is that no company is stupid enough to do that.  Take Amazon's drone program... there were privacy concerns from a lot of people about it, but the reality of the situation is that Amazon is not going to risk their highly successful profitable company so that they can take pictures of the top of your head.

 

Afraid of people using them for lethal purposes?  Well again, there are a lot more effective ways of killing someone than designing a ridiculously expensive piece of technology just so you can off someone.  I mean we're not talking about technology you pick up at Walmart here... if a drone is used to kill someone, the government is going to be able to find out pretty easily where that drone came from.

 

Afraid of the government killing us off?  Well if you're on some top secret agency's hit list, a drone isn't going to be the deciding factor in whether they do it.  They aren't going to go "eh... we'd really like to off Bob since we think he's a terrorist, but his house is all the way down the road and guns are so messy... let's just forget about it."

 

Long story short, there's nothing drone tech would do harmful to our society that can't already be done with existing tech, but it has so many wonderful applications to make our lives easier.  I'm all for advancing our technology, and I really hope paranoia won't keep our society from moving forward.

[WindShear 545]

As someone who is going to school to become a pilot, I am more concerned about the potential impact widespread use of drones will have on air traffic than I am about drones spying on me.