What's It Like To Pilot a Drone? a Bit Like Call of Duty

Velcroman1 writes "Teenagers raised on Call of Duty and Halo might relish flying a massive Predator drone — a surprisingly similar activity. Pilots of unmanned military aircraft use a joystick to swoop down into the battlefield, spot enemy troop movements, and snap photos of terror suspects, explained John Hamby, a former military commander who led surveillance missions during the Iraq War. 'You're always maneuvering the airplane to get a closer look,' Hamby said. 'You're constantly searching for the bad guys and targets of interest. When you do find something that is actionable, you're a hero.' Yet a new study at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found real-life drone operators can become easily bored. Only one participant paid attention during an entire test session, while even top performers spent a third of the time checking a cellphone or catching up on the latest novel. The solution: making the actual drone mission even more like a video game."

Comments

No Motivation to End the War

[KalvinB]

When the cost of war does not include lives on your side, there's zero motivation to end the war with peaceful, equitable treaty. And when there's no cost to you, there's little incentive to avoid going to war to begin with.

No wonder we're trapped in endless wars. The government just prints money so there's no limiting factor there and as long as our guys don't die, the public doesn't care.

Fantastic world we live in.

We need to get a Republican elected to president so we can start caring again.