Drones, are they accepted?

[Sky Knight 1,172]

From what I'm seeing in today's world drones are now becoming a bigger part of our lives. We see them being used by civilians, military's and companies. How they're used can range from filming footage that could otherwise only be obtained through means of Air Craft to being used in real time war to kill or gather information for greater understanding. My question to you is, is it worth our time to invest further into? And should we commit more roles in life such as flying planes with civilians on board to a drone pilot?

 

New technologies are being developed everyday, wither it's good for us or not is up to us. We must be the ones that decide what is okay and when to draw the line. I'm talking about Drones now but could we accept that one day a human could be 80% machine? Or could we accept creating new life in a Lab from chemicals? These are questions for another time when it's more prevalent in our societies.

 

Thank you for reading.

Edited July 30, 2015 by Sky Knight

[Jokuc 8,172]

I don't mind them. As long as laws are made about where and how you may use them. Flying above people's houses isn't really something everyone enjoys.

[GuyNamedEarl 1,332]

I won't mind them until someone finds a way to hack them and mess with people's lives.

[Night Mist 151]

They're kinda cool but I'm not sure I like them being a common thing. The only thing I can really get behind with them is amazon delivering packages with them.. cause that is awesome.. But other then that there are tons of issues that could arise. 

[Sunwalker 981]

I do not think I have any problems with regular, non-sentient, drones. They are things that can make our life easier while protecting human life against doing certain dangerous tasks. A drone can be either replaced or rebuilt, but with human life things are more... irreversible.

 

But I am iffy about possible sentient drones, assuming it is possible, which I doubt. I doubt for two reasons: first because a human brain completely figuring out how his own brain works sounds impossible to me, since logic make me think that the brain can only hold information that is less complex than itself; and second because I think that what makes we sentient is not a material thing. But assuming it is possible to build a sentient machine, I do not like the idea because I see much more possibilities of abuse than the good it could make.

 

Being capable of manipulating life is something that already sounds wrong to me, and manipulating it in a more fundamental level like the mind sounds even more. I think that individuals should be free, and the capability of directly manipulating a mind opens the Pandora's box for mass control and forms of torture bigger than anything we know today.

 

I am not really sure what to think about transhumanism. I keep a neutral stance on it, though I find a bit creepy the idea of having my body tampered with.

[Smarts 1,620]

Drones are okay, until they discover sentient thought and begin to raise an empire.

Edited July 30, 2015 by Smarts

[BlueBrony 388]

I think drones are a promising technology that are becoming more economically viable each year. As an engineer, I generally get excited about new technology, but I also acknowledge that there are some instances where drones are being used for worrying purposes:

http://www.npr.org/2015/07/23/425654435/california-firefighters-forced-to-call-off-missions-after-drone-interference

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/homemade-drone-mounted-semi-automatic-handgun-may-not-be-illegal-law-enforcement-say/

this behavior appears to be discouraged among the drone community, however.

As a counterpoint to the first article, here is one where a drone actually helped firefighters

http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/daily-southtown/news/ct-sta-orland-park-fire-drone-st-0730-20150729-story.html

 

In summary, drones look to be an interesting tool with promising applications. As a society, however, we must remain vigilant to not allow the technology to be developed unchecked by the bounds of ethical use.

 

 

And should we commit more roles in life such as flying planes with civilians on board to a drone pilot?

Now that i've reread your post- to address these questions, I would look at the development being done with driverless vehicles as a guide:

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20141013-convoys-of-huge-zombie-trucks

The technology to make driverless vehicles already exists, but it is not in industry yet. It will slowly be integrated into society as reliability and safety improves (and thus reputation builds). I have a feeling that once driverless vehicles are deemed to be safe, drone piloted planes will become a viable technology.

[Sunwalker 981]

Speaking of drone controlled vehicles, the subway train I get is controlled by an automated system. There always are staff on board, though.

[EpicEnergy 22,072]

I'm not sure, but I guess drones are ok in my opinion.

[Fluttershyfan94 5,738]

I own a couple of drones I like drones hehe.