Certainly in the UK, drones have had a bad press recently – with the disruption caused at London’s Gatwick airport.
However, the sensible ones among us (and I do – perhaps rather arrogantly – include myself in that category) know that throughout history, technologies have been used for good and bad purposes.
Drones are also used to improve agricultural productivity by giving farmers a view of their fields and crops they could not afford to get in other ways. They are used in law enforcement and in the military, by sports broadcasters, and so on.
So, don’t blame the drones: they are just pieces of technology. Blame their operators
But remember, if the ‘bad’ users (or their impact on society) outnumber the ‘good’, technology cannot be uninvented. Once it is ‘out there’, it stays out there – even if made illegal.
So, society must get used to drones – and their misuse. Be prepared to deal with mischievous or criminal drone use – it is not going to go away.
And, of course, continue to apply the technology to society’s advantage. Make the beneficial impact outweigh the harmful.
Go, drones!