IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2016 - 72

use of exact information obtained by GPS. Benefits in
terms of reduced routing overhead, computation time,
and energy resources can be obtained [28]. Hierarchical
routing protocols can be used for efficient routing
between cluster heads and increasing robustness of
FANETs for large geographic areas.

Societal Ramifications
Despite the benefits of FANETs discussed above, there
are some serious risks that need to be highlighted. The
unwelcome consequences of FANETs are discussed
below and these should be addressed on an international scale. Figure 4 illustrates some possible threats
posed by FANETs.

Military Concerns
Although FANETs can deliver exceptional outcomes for
intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) operations, their usage should be governed by international
humanitarian law (IHL). Due to significant military funding in this technology, there is a high risk that the
research will be diverted towards preparations for potential armed conflicts [11] According to [12], annual global
spending on such UAV networks is expected to rise from
US$ 5.9 billion to US$ 11.3 billion over the span of ten
years. i.e., from 2012 to 2022. The benefits of acquiring
timely and reliable information through FANETs may be
misused in armed operations that are being actively performed in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Yemen, and other

war zone areas. In such scenarios, questions regarding
the competence of the artificial intelligence of FANETs
and of the legal and ethical grounds of such tasks arise.
Due to autonomous operation of FANETs, there is little
knowledge available about the progress of the mission.
Simple programming ambiguities in such networks may
result in unintentional causalities, injuries, or other
monetary damages of civilians instead of targeted terrorists [13]. According to [14], the ongoing drone strikes
in Pakistan have killed 3325 people including 800 civilians as of September 2012.

Privacy Concerns
The usage of FANETs by security agencies for surveillance and monitoring purposes is primarily conducted
to save nations from internal and external threats. However, deployment of such networks in national airspace
needs to be legally regulated so as to uphold basic
human rights of privacy [15] When every act of citizens
is being monitored by the state, then the concept of
"free society" fails to prosper. Technical advancements
in these networks should not lead to gathering information and evidence at the cost of compromising civil liberties and citizen rights.

Safety Concerns
FANETs are deployed for autonomous surveillance in
complex urban environments. This application raises
serious safety issues as huge damage can be caused due

Psychological
Disturbance

Collateral Damage

Privacy
Invasion
Public Safety
Security
Collapse

FIGURE 4. Social ramifications of FANETs.

IEEE Technology and Society Magazine

∕

june 2016

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2016