At the 160 Madeira Consorcio meeting on 20.6.2026, held in the Gallery, participants watched the TED Talk “Adam Bry: The invisible infrastructure in the sky.” The discussion focused on how Adam Bry, who comes from a family of sheep farmers in Tasmania /Australia, developed drones to help manage large areas of land and cattle, later founding a company that builds custom drones for specific tasks. Examples mentioned included weed elimination on dam walls, placing prisms for laser connections, forest fire prevention, and support for Madeira’s Civil Protection and Bombeiros in locating missing people and spotting smoke lines. The group also reviewed the rules for private drone use on the island, including the need for a Pilot license, civil damages insurance, and permits from ANAC, AAN, and in some cases the Forest Police and/or the Capitania. Other uses of drones were described, such as monitoring the Desertas and the Selvagens, deliveries by Amazon, medicine drops, and even the transport of drugs and phones into prisons. The meeting then turned to the military and surveillance risks of drone technology, including the impact of the Ukraine war and the possibility of very small drones being used to spy on people or apply poison. AI was also discussed, with Sam sharing her experience using ChatGPT and noting that such systems can invent “facts” and mislead users if not carefully controlled. The conversation ended with concerns about the power of billionaires, the influence of US software companies, and the need for Europe to keep its data, payment systems like Wero, and future AI tools within Europe.
