Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
The fascinating history and unnerving future of high-tech aerial surveillance, from its secret military origins to its growing use on American citizens
Eyes in the Sky is the authoritative account of how the Pentagon developed a godlike surveillance system that's already patrolling American skies. Whereas a trained human can keep tabs on two or three targets simultaneously, this new technology, first called Gorgon Stare, can track 1,000 moving targets at once. Big-data analysis can easily examine thousands of hours of footage, or even trace a target backward in time to find out where it came from--like playing a movie in reverse to see how it begins.
Gorgon Stare has saved countless lives in combat zones, but when deployed over American cities--as Arthur Holland Michel reveals has been done in secret--this technology becomes the most nightmarishly powerful visual surveillance system ever created. Police forces and businesses are rushing to snap it up, and while it may well help solve some serious crimes, it will also allow authorities to identify everyone who jaywalks--or attends a protest. This is closed-circuit television on steroids. Businesses don't need Facebook, they can study our daily activities from the sky.
Drawing on extensive access within the Pentagon and the companies that developed this technology, Eyes in the Sky reveals how a top-secret team brought Gorgon Stare into existence and how it now poses an unprecedented threat to our privacy and freedom.