As some of you watching the news may have heard, there’s increasing discussion around the use of unmanned aerial drones. These robotic flying machines are widely used outside of the US by our military for surveillance and reconnaissance missions, as well as offensive maneuvers. Drones are probably best known for their use during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. There are some US law enforcement agencies that are looking into using drones within the US on American citizens. This would allow police, FBI, or any other designated agency to monitor and follow any individual or group 24 hours a day. Equipped with the proper sensors, drones are capable of doing everything from catching speeders, to tracking the activity inside a person’s home, to monitoring an entire city with a single camera. And based on this report from the Electronic Frontier Foundation, drones are already being used by some police agencies in some states.

While some people might are concerned about the privacy implications of mechanized, round the clock government surveillance, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg isn’t one of them. In this article on the tech blog The Verge, writer Joshua Kopstein analyzes comments Bloomberg made during his most recent weekly radio address. During this address, Bloomberg seemed to have difficulty understanding why anyone would object to the use of drones (“What’s the difference whether the drone is up in the air or on the building?”). Beyond that Bloomberg goes on to say that the widespread use of pervasive surveillance technologies like drones is inevitable at this point. (“I just don’t see how you can stop them.”). Kopstein goes on to anaylze the questionable benefits of pervasive surveillance when used in other big cities. He also provides a description of the extensive surveillance tech already being used throughout NYC.

So is Bloomberg right? Is the use of surveillance technologies like drones inevitable at this point? What would be the spiritual impact on those people in leadership who would have access to such detailed knowledge about everyone around them?

Share your thoughts in the comments!!!