Resistance is Futile

I want to start off by saying that I'm not big on conspiracy theories. We really did land on the moon, Lee Harvey Oswald was the Lone Gunman, and 9/11 was not an inside job. I just don't think that the government is smart enough to pull off anything of that magnitude -- there are too many Edward Snowdens out there.

I, however, see all kinds of conspiracy theories behind Amazon's new Prime Air drone delivery. To be certain, I am a huge fan of the 2004 reboot of Battlestar Galactica, and I am wary of becoming complacent with partially self-aware technologies. I don't want to end up with a Cylon War. (Although I really wouldn't mind having a Number Six around the house.)

Part of me thinks this is really cool. It's totally like the Jetsons with their moving sidewalks and Spacely Space Sprockets. The other part of me thinks this could open a huge can of worms.

Obviously, these drones will be equipped with cameras. Amazon will most likely use the footage to further develop their customer profiles on each of us. But, who's to say that those camera rights won’t be sold to the highest bidder? Will the NSA, who already tap our phones under the guise of safety, ride along with the drones? Will they be keeping a close eye on all our private activities? Does the bidder even have to be from our country? Could a foreign power or entity buy those rights? What is in our best interest?

For sure, that's an extreme view of the new technology, but really, hasn't that idea been in the back of our minds since we heard the news? And I'm no Luddite. I have a smart phone, a tablet and a couple of computers. Anyway, there are a couple other ideas to keep in mind.

Amazon processes 300,000-400,000 orders per day. If only 1% of the orders use the new Prime Air, there will be 3,000-4,000 drones in the air each and every day. That's a lot of drones. Now, if we look at holiday times, we'll be seeing a lot more drones in the air. On  Black Friday 2010, Amazon received 72 orders per second for that 24-hour period.

Will having thousands of drones in the skies during the day cause any issue with commercial flights? Probably not. They would exist at two widely divergent altitudes. The true test of its impact will come later. Once the public becomes complacent with drones hovering near our homes every day, how long will it be before we're allowing military drones to buzz around and peek in our windows?

Hey, but at least Google Earth isn't live….Yet.

So say we all.