"I came across some discussions about what drones and the gamification of war do to the human psyche. In fact, this was discussed long before the widespread use of cheap military drones as a result of who knows what. For example, there is a book "The Theory of the Drone" by the French philosopher Gregory Chamayou - it is not about today's drones, but also about the massive American "Predators" that hovered in the skies over the Middle East. There are many interesting observations - for example, how the advent of drones expanded the functions of Bentham's panopticon from "the warden can watch you" to "the digital warden is always watching" (the same can be said about the video surveillance system).
In general, it seems to me that the experience of war can be divided into three main parts. War, which existed from the beginning of time until about the beginning of the last century, involves close contact with the enemy. Close combat means danger: you can kill the enemy, the enemy can kill you. The need to put your own life on the line is a kind of the price for the opportunity to take someone else's life. It is clear that military art has always sought to destroy the enemy with the least danger to oneself, but this danger has never become zero. Ancient horse archers or dragoons of the Modern Era, who had the ability to run from enemy infantry, were still close and bore certain risks.
The advent of long-range artillery revolutionized not only military affairs, but also psychology. People appeared who were relatively safe behind the front line, but at the same time brought death to others (most of the losses in the First World War were due to artillery). However, they were not in close contact with the enemy, fired at designated points and usually did not see the result of their work with their own eyes. That is, they had no experience of danger, but also no experience of killing.
Drones made a new revolution in the psychology of military affairs. Already the American "Predator" allowed you to see quite closely those you would hit with a missile. Modern kamikaze drones provide even closer contact. At the same time, the drone operator, like an artilleryman, is far outside the action zone. That is, the drone operator is a person who experiences the close experience of killing an enemy, like an ancient soldier. But at the same time, he is relatively safe and does not experience the risk that in the old days served as a counterweight"
From the TG channel Whales swimming to a house party with LSD
