The Future of Ubiquitous, Real-Time Intelligence – A GEOINT Singularity

Imagine a future where realtime Earth observations with analytics are available globally to the average citizen, providing a tremendous wealth of information, insight, and intelligence. The opportunities seem immense, but what would the availability of ubiquitous, realtime intelligence mean to the military operator and warfighter? 

When assessing the trends of global connectiveness, commercial remote sensing from space, and advances in artificial intelligence, the trends point towards a future where information and overhead imagery will become available to the general public in near-realtime. The rise of large constellations with remote sensing satellites and capabilities ranging from synthetic aperture radar imaging, night-time imaging, and infrared imaging, is a global phenomenon.

The U.S. approach to commercial remote sensing has been to regulate and limit the imagery that can be taken from space but international capabilities will not be so easily curtailed. Has the time come for the military operator to find better ways to hide, rather than telling someone not to look?