T
here was rejoicing in many quarters last December when Nevada was chosen as a test site by the Federal Aviation Administration for the development of commercial applications of drones. It would mean an influx of high-paying technology, aerospace design and engineering jobs for the struggling state.
Are unmAnned AeriAl vehicles good for nevAdA’s economy or bAd for nevAdA’s humAniTy? mAybe boTh. OPINION
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“It will open up a whole new world to the people of our state for education and job opportunities,” the Las Vegas Sun reported Gov. Brian Sandoval saying when the FAA’s decision was announced. “This is a day that 10 years from now and 20 years from now, we’ll look back on and see that it really changed the trajectory of our economic development efforts.” Nevada’s U.S. Senators, Harry Reid and Dean Heller, along with other state officials and politicians, also issued statements praising the successful effort to establish Nevada as ground zero for drones. But for some, inviting drones into the state was like inviting a vampire into the house. The
perception exists that since the technology was developed for military purposes, drones are inherently deadly and dangerous. Unmanned aerial vehicles high in the sky mean the end of personal privacy and the beginning of a police state that could, like the plot of hundreds of science fiction movies, suddenly go rogue, turn on its creators, and start a war of machines against men. Nevada, of course, has a long history of being the birthplace and testing ground of new
“What Drones may come” continued on page
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