’Looking Through a Soda Straw’: Mediated Vision in Remote Warfare
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7146/politik.v20i1.27644Resumé
Image-guided military operations embed soldiers into a complex system of image production, transmission, and perception. These soldiers separate their bodies from the battlefield, but they also mediate between them. In particular, remote controlled operations of so-called unmanned aerial systems (UAS) require the synchronization between human actors and technical sensors in real-time, such as the knowledge of a situation. This situational awareness relies almost exclusively on the visualization of sensory data. This human-machine entanglement corresponds to a new operative modality of images which differs from previous forms of real-time imaging such as live broadcasting, as it is based on a feedback-loop that turns the observer into an actor. Images are not simply analyzed and interpreted but become agents in a socio- technological assemblage. The paper will draw upon this functional shift of images from a medium of visualization towards a medium that guides operative processes. Based on the analysis of vision, architecture, and navigation in remote warfare, it will discuss how real-time video technology and the mobilization of sensor and transmission technology produce a type of intervention, in which action and perception is increasingly organized and determined by machines.
Referencer
Andreas, M 2015, ‘Flächen/Rastern: Zur Bildlichkeit der Drohne’, Behemoth: A Journal on Civilization. Special Issue: Game Changer? Drones at the Intersection of Military and Civilian Use, vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 108–127.
Asendorf, C 2006, ‘Bewegliche Fluchtpunkte: Der Blick von oben und die moderne Raumanschuung’, in C Maar & H Burda (red.), Iconic Worlds: Neue Bilderwelten und Wissensräume, DuMont, Cologne.
Brennan, J O 2012, ‘The Ethics and Efficacy of the President’s Counterterrorism Strategy’, remarks presented at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Washington, DC, 30 April 2012. Available at: www.cfr.org/counterterrorism/brennans-speech-counterterrorism-april 2012/p28100. [Accessed 1 May 2015].
Chappelle, W; K McDonald & K McMillan 2011, ‘Important and Critical Psychological Attributes of USAF MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper Pilots According to Subject Matter Experts’, Technical Report AFRL-SA-WP-TR-2011-0002, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH, US Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine. Available at: www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a545552.pdf. [Accessed 1 May 2016].
Cullen, T M 2011, ‘The MQ-9 Reaper Remotely Piloted Aircraft: Humans and Machines in Action’, PhD Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Available at: http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/80249. [Accessed 1 May 2016].
Descartes, R 1065, Discourse on Method, Optics, Geometry, and Meteorology, Trans. P Olscamp, Indianapolis, Bobbs-Merrill.
Dorrian, M & F Pousin 2013, Seeing from Above: The Aerial View in Visual Culture, Tauris, London.
Friedersdorf, C 2012, ‘Calling U.S. Drone Strikes ‘Surgical’ is Orwellian propaganda’, in The Atlantic, 27 September 2012. Available at:
www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/09/calling-us-drone-strikes-surgical-is-orwellian-propaganda/262920. [Accessed 1 May 2016].
Farocki, H 2004, ‘Phantom Images’, Public, vol. 29, pp. 12–24.
Franz, N 2016, ‘Man in the Loop: The Language of Participation and the New Technologies of War’, in M Denecke, A Ganzert, I Otto & R Stock (red.), ReClaiming Participation. Technology – Mediation – Collectivity, Transcript, Bielefeld.
Geimer, P 2010, Bilder aus Versehen: Eine Geschichte fotografischer Erscheinungen, Philo Fine Arts, Hamburg.
General Atomics n.d., Advanced Cockpit GCS. Available at:
http://www.ga-asi.com/advanced-cockpit-gcs. [Accessed 1 May 2016].
Gregory, D 2011, ‘From a View to a Kill: Drones and Late Modern War’, Theory, Culture & Society, vol. 28, no. 7–8, pp. 188–215.
Haraway, D 1988, ‘Situated Knowledges: The Science Question in Feminism and the Privilege of Partial Perspective’, Feminist Studies, vol. 14, no. 3, pp. 575–599.
Harris, C 2006, ‘The Omniscient Eye: Satellite Imagery, Battlespace Awareness, and the Structures of the Imperial Gaze’, Surveillance & Society, vol. 4, no.1, pp. 101-122.
Hinterwaldner, I 2013, ‘Programmierte Operativität und operative Bildlichkeit’, in R Mikulá, S Moser & KS Wozonig (red.), Die Kunst der Systemik, Lit Verlag, Berlin.
Hoel, AS & L Frank 2014, ‘Differential Interventions: Images as Operative Tools’, in I Hoelzl (red.), The Operative Image–an Approximation. Available at: http://mediacommons.futureofthebook.org/tne/pieces/differential-interventions-images- operative-tools-2. [Accessed 1 April 2016].
Kepler, J 1962, Dioptrice, Cambridge, Heffer.
Kittler, F 2002, Optische Medien, Merve, Berlin.
Krämer, S 2009, ‘Operative Bildlichkeit: Von der ‘Grammatologie’ zu einer ‘Diagrammatologie’? Reflexionen über erkennendes ‘Sehen’, in M Hessler & D Mersch (red.), Logik des Bildlichen: Zur Kritik der ikonischen Vernunft, Transcript, Bielefeld.
Merget, F 2012, ‘War and the Vanishing Battlefield’, Loyola University Chicago International Law Review, vol. 9, no. 1, Available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1986548. [Accessed 1 May 2016].
Powell, C 2013, Remarks to the United Nations Security Council, 5 February 2003, New York City. Available at: www.2001-2009.state.gov/secretary/former/powell/ remarks/2003/17 300.htm. [Accessed May 2016].
Putnam, H 1981, Reason, Truth and History, Cambridge UP, Cambridge.
Suchman, L 2015, ‘Situational Awareness: Deadly Bioconvergence at the Intersection of Bodies and Machines’, Media Tropes, vol. 1, pp. 1–24.
Suchman, L & J Weber 2014, ‘Human-machine Autonomies’, paper presented at the Autonomous Weapons Systems – Law, Ethics, Policy conference, 24–25 April 2014. Available at: https://www.academia.edu/9659770/ Human-Machine_Autonomies. [Accessed 1 May 2016].
Trogemann, G 2014, ‘Der Blick der Drohne’, in U Zeller, H Schmid and F Moll (red.), Archäologie der Zukunft, Books on Demand, Norderstedt.
Verbeek, P 2007, ‘Beyond the Human Eye: Technological Mediation and Posthuman Visions’, in P Kockelkoren (red.), Mediated Vision, Veenman Publishers and ArtEZ Press, Rotterdam.
Vertesi, J 2015, Seeing Like a Rover How Robots, Teams, and Images Craft Knowledge of Mars, The University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
Vertov, D 1973 (1923), ‘Kinoki – Umsturz’, in W Beilenhoff and D Vertoff (red.), Schriften zum Film, Hanser Verlag, München.
Virilio, P 1986, Speed and Politics: An Essay on Dromology, Semiotext(e), New York.
Walczak, G 2012, ‘WikiLeaks und Videokrieg: Warum wir noch immer nicht wissen, was wir im Collateral Murder-Video sahen’, Mittelweg, vol. 36, no. 4, pp. 4–39.
Warf, B 2008. Time-Space Compression: Historical Geographies, Routledge, London.
Asendorf, C 2006, ‘Bewegliche Fluchtpunkte: Der Blick von oben und die moderne Raumanschuung’, in C Maar & H Burda (red.), Iconic Worlds: Neue Bilderwelten und Wissensräume, DuMont, Cologne.
Brennan, J O 2012, ‘The Ethics and Efficacy of the President’s Counterterrorism Strategy’, remarks presented at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Washington, DC, 30 April 2012. Available at: www.cfr.org/counterterrorism/brennans-speech-counterterrorism-april 2012/p28100. [Accessed 1 May 2015].
Chappelle, W; K McDonald & K McMillan 2011, ‘Important and Critical Psychological Attributes of USAF MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper Pilots According to Subject Matter Experts’, Technical Report AFRL-SA-WP-TR-2011-0002, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH, US Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine. Available at: www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a545552.pdf. [Accessed 1 May 2016].
Cullen, T M 2011, ‘The MQ-9 Reaper Remotely Piloted Aircraft: Humans and Machines in Action’, PhD Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Available at: http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/80249. [Accessed 1 May 2016].
Descartes, R 1065, Discourse on Method, Optics, Geometry, and Meteorology, Trans. P Olscamp, Indianapolis, Bobbs-Merrill.
Dorrian, M & F Pousin 2013, Seeing from Above: The Aerial View in Visual Culture, Tauris, London.
Friedersdorf, C 2012, ‘Calling U.S. Drone Strikes ‘Surgical’ is Orwellian propaganda’, in The Atlantic, 27 September 2012. Available at:
www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/09/calling-us-drone-strikes-surgical-is-orwellian-propaganda/262920. [Accessed 1 May 2016].
Farocki, H 2004, ‘Phantom Images’, Public, vol. 29, pp. 12–24.
Franz, N 2016, ‘Man in the Loop: The Language of Participation and the New Technologies of War’, in M Denecke, A Ganzert, I Otto & R Stock (red.), ReClaiming Participation. Technology – Mediation – Collectivity, Transcript, Bielefeld.
Geimer, P 2010, Bilder aus Versehen: Eine Geschichte fotografischer Erscheinungen, Philo Fine Arts, Hamburg.
General Atomics n.d., Advanced Cockpit GCS. Available at:
http://www.ga-asi.com/advanced-cockpit-gcs. [Accessed 1 May 2016].
Gregory, D 2011, ‘From a View to a Kill: Drones and Late Modern War’, Theory, Culture & Society, vol. 28, no. 7–8, pp. 188–215.
Haraway, D 1988, ‘Situated Knowledges: The Science Question in Feminism and the Privilege of Partial Perspective’, Feminist Studies, vol. 14, no. 3, pp. 575–599.
Harris, C 2006, ‘The Omniscient Eye: Satellite Imagery, Battlespace Awareness, and the Structures of the Imperial Gaze’, Surveillance & Society, vol. 4, no.1, pp. 101-122.
Hinterwaldner, I 2013, ‘Programmierte Operativität und operative Bildlichkeit’, in R Mikulá, S Moser & KS Wozonig (red.), Die Kunst der Systemik, Lit Verlag, Berlin.
Hoel, AS & L Frank 2014, ‘Differential Interventions: Images as Operative Tools’, in I Hoelzl (red.), The Operative Image–an Approximation. Available at: http://mediacommons.futureofthebook.org/tne/pieces/differential-interventions-images- operative-tools-2. [Accessed 1 April 2016].
Kepler, J 1962, Dioptrice, Cambridge, Heffer.
Kittler, F 2002, Optische Medien, Merve, Berlin.
Krämer, S 2009, ‘Operative Bildlichkeit: Von der ‘Grammatologie’ zu einer ‘Diagrammatologie’? Reflexionen über erkennendes ‘Sehen’, in M Hessler & D Mersch (red.), Logik des Bildlichen: Zur Kritik der ikonischen Vernunft, Transcript, Bielefeld.
Merget, F 2012, ‘War and the Vanishing Battlefield’, Loyola University Chicago International Law Review, vol. 9, no. 1, Available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1986548. [Accessed 1 May 2016].
Powell, C 2013, Remarks to the United Nations Security Council, 5 February 2003, New York City. Available at: www.2001-2009.state.gov/secretary/former/powell/ remarks/2003/17 300.htm. [Accessed May 2016].
Putnam, H 1981, Reason, Truth and History, Cambridge UP, Cambridge.
Suchman, L 2015, ‘Situational Awareness: Deadly Bioconvergence at the Intersection of Bodies and Machines’, Media Tropes, vol. 1, pp. 1–24.
Suchman, L & J Weber 2014, ‘Human-machine Autonomies’, paper presented at the Autonomous Weapons Systems – Law, Ethics, Policy conference, 24–25 April 2014. Available at: https://www.academia.edu/9659770/ Human-Machine_Autonomies. [Accessed 1 May 2016].
Trogemann, G 2014, ‘Der Blick der Drohne’, in U Zeller, H Schmid and F Moll (red.), Archäologie der Zukunft, Books on Demand, Norderstedt.
Verbeek, P 2007, ‘Beyond the Human Eye: Technological Mediation and Posthuman Visions’, in P Kockelkoren (red.), Mediated Vision, Veenman Publishers and ArtEZ Press, Rotterdam.
Vertesi, J 2015, Seeing Like a Rover How Robots, Teams, and Images Craft Knowledge of Mars, The University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
Vertov, D 1973 (1923), ‘Kinoki – Umsturz’, in W Beilenhoff and D Vertoff (red.), Schriften zum Film, Hanser Verlag, München.
Virilio, P 1986, Speed and Politics: An Essay on Dromology, Semiotext(e), New York.
Walczak, G 2012, ‘WikiLeaks und Videokrieg: Warum wir noch immer nicht wissen, was wir im Collateral Murder-Video sahen’, Mittelweg, vol. 36, no. 4, pp. 4–39.
Warf, B 2008. Time-Space Compression: Historical Geographies, Routledge, London.
Downloads
Publiceret
2017-03-01
Citation/Eksport
Queisner, M. (2017). ’Looking Through a Soda Straw’: Mediated Vision in Remote Warfare. Politik, 20(1). https://doi.org/10.7146/politik.v20i1.27644
Nummer
Sektion
Tema
Licens
Forfattere, der publicerer deres værker via dette tidsskrift, accepterer følgende vilkår:
- Forfattere bevarer deres ophavsret og giver tidsskriftet ret til første publicering, samtidigt med at værket er omfattet af en Creative Commons Attribution-licens, der giver andre ret til at dele værket med en anerkendelse af værkets forfatter og første publicering i nærværende tidsskrift.
- Forfattere kan indgå flere separate kontraktlige aftaler om ikke-eksklusiv distribution af tidsskriftets publicerede version af værket (f.eks. sende det til et institutionslager eller udgive det i en bog), med en anerkendelse af værkets første publicering i nærværende tidsskrift.
- Forfattere har ret til og opfordres til at publicere deres værker online (f.eks. i institutionslagre eller på deres websted) forud for og under manuskriptprocessen, da dette kan føre til produktive udvekslinger, samt tidligere og større citater fra publicerede værker (se The Effect of Open Access).
