The “Eye in the Sky” podcast talks about surveillance technology that could be useful in solving heinous crimes and protecting our citizens. This surveillance technology consists of a small plane with cameras connected to the bottom of the plane. Originally designed to solve larger-scale military incidences, this technology can be beneficial because it can survey large areas at a time. This technology has been brought to America to help solve crimes here, and is generally non-invasive, as the images collected are not analyzed unless a crime is committed. This means this technology would almost be less intrusive than normal surveillance cameras on street corners. Also, the images collected from almost two miles up are low resolution to small objects, so the police are cannot track us individually. This technology would be helpful in large-scale crimes, such as gang activity, robbery, and murder.

The podcast also highlights people’s hesitance toward this technology. Those opposed to these technologies explain that this technology is not really needed because of lack of government trust and lack of evidence to back up its effectiveness. Many people believe that authorities, the government, or the people behind this technology could abuse the power that comes with this high level of surveillance. Would they be spying on our everyday lives? This technology makes people uncomfortable. Also, the technology has some limitations; it would not be as effective in cities where there are large underground transportation systems or areas where there is a lot of tree cover. These naysayers also believe that if someone really wants to commit a crime, this will not completely deter them and they will find better ways of covering their crimes, or just do it anyway. Overall, many people believe this technology could be beneficial in solving serious crimes, however many also believe it oversteps the boundaries of personal security.