Imagine a war zone. You can't really send reporters in to a lot of it because they'll just get themselves killed. But what if you had the reportorial equivalent of disposable cameras and could widely disseminate them on both sides of the lines? If you could figure out a secure method of anonymous payment, you could count on a huge increase in the number of reports coming out of the area by participants in the conflict and locals who want to make a quick buck and are in the danger zone anyway.
We're a good 10-20 years out from a world where the technology to do this is affordable, but there are no conceptual barriers for the engineers to conquer. Given an infinite amount of money, you could do it today.
Go Moore's Law!
The reported battlefield would not only change the nature of war reporting but would also change the ability of soldiers to get away with war crimes. With so many potential reporters everywhere, the chance of getting away with it falls to near zero.
Posted by TMLutas at May 14, 2004 12:18 AM