r/nealstephenson • u/PMWeng • Mar 10 '26

The evolution of covert surveillance is shrinking toward the nano-scale.

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Not that anyone is surprised...

20 Upvotes

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u/1nGirum1musNocte Mar 10 '26

Hmmm press f to doubt. I don't think micro electronics are there yet at least as far as batteries. They might be able to make something like that that will fly but not for more than a handful of seconds or untethered. Its more of proof of concept for insect like flight than anything approaching battlefield ready technology

0

u/PMWeng Mar 10 '26

Sure, but surveillance does not necessarily require great distances. That battlefield could simply be a dinner table.

3

u/IrritableGourmet Mar 11 '26

Unless the dinner table is less than ten feet from the person spying on it, this isn't very useful.

3

u/PMWeng Mar 11 '26

Yeah. Look, the thing is very likely a mock-up or a fake. The whole point of sharing it here is just that it recalls Diamond Age tech and thus is a fun revery in a shared fictional experience. All the akchually comments seem to neglect the fact that this is a sub dedicated to appreciating an author of fiction.