Sometimes the scariest hints of horror are hidden in what looks like beautiful artwork. And the latest ones were concealed in plain sight watched probably by hundreds of millions of people all over the world earlier this week.
The drone shows marking the New Year have become a global trend, which blends artistic creativity and scientific brilliance. It’s the latter, which showcases unrivalled precisions, unmatched controls and unfathomable synchronization, that makes us wonder what is in store, if not there already.
When swarms of drones formed a colourful dragon or elegant Santa Claus on an open sleigh, science inspires. But the more marvelous the flickering lights in the skies look, the more fearful ones must feel.
Drones play a big part in New Year celebrations once every 365 or 366 days, but they can be active every day in warfare. Their proliferation _ in sports, military deployment and commercial use _ has triggered fears of life imitating doomsday art. A world obsessed with drones would hasten the days when best young gamers are recruited to control sophisticated weapons, like in many movies.
Drone-flying competitions are now common, and contestants are getting younger and younger every time they are held. That’s absolutely understandable. The arenas feature dizzily flashing lights and ear-splitting sounds which rule out participation of most adults.
It will be also understandable if military scouts will frequent drone-flying contests for ideal recruitment opportunities.
Certainly, adults are the controllers behind the wonderful New Year drone shows in China, the United States and some other countries because the flying objects are slow. When military drones have to move fast and zigzag their way behind enemy lines to avoid detection or anti-aircraft fire, who are more capable of flying them _ coming-of-age New Year performers or child champion of drone racing?
Chances are you cannot pilot drones, so one surefire way to get depressed is to peek into a drone shop (which now exists at every department store) and check out the ages of customers. There are adults in there, of course, but they are either young ones or parents accompanying their children for “toy selection”.
We can bypass children, though. Can drones fly themselves to destinations or targets? Of course, they can. Which is why the future is scary. And by “future”, some of it has already happened in the distant past.
America reportedly conducted its first drone strikes in Afghanistan in 2001. Washington has several armed drone models and is one of the world’s major exporter of armed drones. Iran unveiled its first armed drone a decade and a half ago. In 2013, the New York Times reported that China considered using a drone to kill a Burmese drug lord, but opted to capture and try him in court.
Just weeks ago, China showed off a massive mothership drone that can carry a payload of up to six tons. According to CNN, “Jetank” has a wingspan of 25 meters (82 feet) and a maximum takeoff weight of 16 tons, according to state media, making it among the largest such weapons in China’s arsenal.
Reports of Israel’s military drone use are innumerable, although the country does not publicly acknowledge warfare usage. North Korea allegedly had “suicide drones”. England purchased some drones from the United States and armed them in 2008.
There are generally two types of military drones. One is used for intelligence and/or surveillance. They may carry ordinance such as missiles or bombs and can guide themselves back. The other is kamikaze drone which explodes on impact.
Thailand, of course, has to be preoccupied with recreational, commercial and scientific usages. Like many countries, legislations have to be regularly updated due to increasing use.
People flying drones when intoxicated are not a widespread problem at the moment, but that is simply because not so many people are in possession of the objects. When the tipping point comes, “drunk droning” can be a serious problem, particularly in countries like Thailand, where fighting drunk drivers is a losing battle especially during festive periods.
Like most things, drone is a double-edged sword. Agricultural use has, too, become widespread. Companies are competing to develop high-tech farming drones for crop spraying and other uses. The convenience provided by drones is said to be a new hope for agriculture in a country facing a shortage of new-generation farmers.
According to a Japanese research, the crop-spraying drone market is growing exponentially, with new producers constantly emerging. What the world needs to do when drones are concerned is avoid the kind of failure that turned valuable scientific discovery into atomic bombs.
Existing drone technology can provide soil or field analyses, drastically increase planting efficiency, play a big role in crop-spraying as well as crop-monitoring, and help identify irrigation needs. All these activities, if supported properly by politicians in power, can take agriculture from the hands of big conglomerates and hand it back to real farmers, experts say.
With the world’s population expected to be close to 10 billion by 2050, hi-tech agriculture will be needed. Old-fashioned farming will not be sufficient to meet consumption demands or cope with weather patterns that can grow more volatile.
But _ and this is a big “but” _ can we do it? Can technology really benefit mankind?
Writing an outline for the movie “Contact”, well-known scientist Carl Sagan addressed this very question. In the film, a panel seeking to send a human representative to meet intelligent extraterrestrial beings who have made a contact with Earth said to the heroine: “If you were to meet these Vegans, and were permitted only one question to ask of them, what would it be?”
Her reply: “Well, I suppose it would be, how did you do it? How did you evolve, how did you survive this technological adolescence without destroying yourself?”
She went on to meet them, and was told that they had made contact because human beings were such an interesting species who were capable of both “beautiful dreams and horrible nightmares.”
