The 2015 feature film Eye in the Sky addresses the ethics of modern warfare and specifically the use of unmanned devices like drones. In Eye in the Sky, the title refers to advanced surveillance drones that are used to monitor the actions of key terrorist targets. Using facial recognition, the drones help senior military officers from both Britain and the United States identify and track their suspects and plan targeted attacks. Moreover, the film shows how senior military officers perform quantitative risk assessments to minimize civilian casualties while pursuing overarching military objectives. One of the key ethical and legal issues Eye in the Sky covers relates to Constitutional rights and in particular, Fourth Amendment rights against unlawful surveillance. The film shows that Fourth Amendment rights may not apply to American citizens abroad. Eye in the Sky also shows that the war on terrorism and the USA PATRIOT Act have altered the legal interpretations of the Fourth Amendment. Cases like those depicted in the film clearly invoke the USA PATRIOT Act because of their impact on counterterrorism policy and the goals of the war on terrorism globally. In fact, even had the drones been used on American soil, the military would have been acting within PATRIOT Act parameters to collect intelligence...
References
ACLU (2018). https://www.aclu.org/other/surveillance-under-usapatriot-act
Hood, G., Director, (2015). Eye in the Sky. Feature Film. Entertainment One.
Salamsky, G. & Yoo, J. (2008). Katz and the war on terrorism. UC Davis Law Review 2008(41): https://lawreview.law.ucdavis.edu/issues/41/3/intl-crime-terrorism/41-3_Sulmasy-Yoo.pdf
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