• db2@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    32
    ·
    2 years ago

    Maybe this is naive of me

    It really is. We’re not discussing the philosophy of free and open communication, we’re talking about a single narcissist who has been given money and power and how that’s a problem.

    • vvv@programming.dev
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      2
      arrow-down
      24
      ·
      edit-2
      2 years ago

      Science fiction of the 90s was the time to discuss philosophy. We didn’t come to a conclusion then. The future is now. A global low latency, highly available communications network is technologically inevitable. In our timeline, a rich narcissist has gathered enough support and competence around himself to start building that network. So now we have real, concrete questions that need answers: who should have access to that network, and who should decide?

      The way I see it, the options are (besides opening the network for everyone globally):

      • limit access to non-military purposes: practically impossible
      • limit access to the country of which Elon calls himself a citizen: what happens if he moves?
      • destroy the network: everyone is worse off
      • have the government take over control of the network: I don’t think we want this precedence

      Do you have another suggestion?

        • vvv@programming.dev
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          2
          arrow-down
          4
          ·
          2 years ago

          Then what are we even discussing? we’ve had orbital cameras for decades. These are just networked better and launched different?

            • Zron@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              2
              ·
              2 years ago

              And what, you want to be able to use spy satellites to see your neighbor sunbathing in the backyard?

              These are military satellites, to look at military shit like what planes an enemy has on the runway and how many, where tanks are on a battlefield, if a convoy is getting ready to leave a depot and how many vehicles it has. Not to mention, what they are even capable of seeing is a matter of national security. If an enemy knows your satellite only has a certain resolution, they can figure out exactly what camouflage they need to defeat it. If they know how the infrared photography works, they can develop strategies to fake the number of functional vehicles they have. Not everyone in the whole world should know that shit. Otherwise the entire intelligence apparatus of the United States should just pack up and retire.

              We already have a global low latency communication network, it’s the thing I’m sending you this message on now. When we don’t need is a global, high quality, spy satellite network that everyone and their brother can use and learn the capabilities of.