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The Good Drone
Book

The Good Drone

How Social Movements Democratize Surveillance

MIT Press, 2020 plus...


Editorial Rating

7

Qualities

  • Scientific
  • Eye Opening
  • Visionary

Recommendation

Do drones make you think of missiles and war? If so, think again, says social scientist Austin Choi-Fitzpatrick. Drones democratize airspace. The author surveys civil society’s use of drones, which range from sampling the mucus of whales to putting graffiti in previously inaccessible places to surveilling the rich and powerful. If you follow Choi-Fitzpatrick’s gracious advice to skip his overly academic sections, you will encounter compelling examples that will lead you to ponder the consequences of affordable “unmanned aircraft.”

Take-Aways

  • Material technologies are worthy of social scientists’ attention.
  • Drones began as nonviolent tools.
  • Some drone use is “disruptive,” some isn’t.

About the Author

Austin Choi-Fitzpatrick is associate professor at the University of San Diego and the University of Nottingham. His other books include What Slaveholders Think.