aka: This is the future on tech.
This is the future. According to some uncertain estimates, insect-sized drones will become operational by 2030. These drones will be able to not only conduct surveillance, but to act on it with lethal effect. Over time, it is likely that miniaturized weapons platforms will evolve to be able to carry not merely the quantum of lethal material needed to execute individuals, but also weapons of mass destruction sufficient to kill thousands.
(via)
Some things to keep in mind: weapons tend to outstrip defenses for a time. Does a society positively teeming with cameras just lead to more innovative weapons of murder? The technologies that bring the world closer together also cause greater harm, or the potential for it [air travel and plagues, at a simple scale]. As the article points out, violence becomes more common the further one is removed from it: anonymizing the weapon and/or killer just makes the threats that much more dangerous.
Further thoughts: This novel is set after the war against AIs, which limits tech to drones powered by humans and basic command-driven robots. Need to work out to what extent the pessmistic views of the future are just back-story to the novel and help explain the current state of government on all levels to prevent such flagrant abuses of freedom in the future.
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