University of Melbourne's Dr Suelette Dreyfus talks with Lisa Ling and Cian Westmoreland, and Melbourne PhD researcher Alex Edney-Browne, about the age of war waged from afar.

Political leaders claim that drones are a precise weapon, able to strike targets with "laser-like focus". Yet independent reports from the media, researchers and eyewitnesses on the ground reveal that scores of civilians are killed, leaving behind traumatised loved ones. What is the reality of this cutting edge technology? How will it change the nature of undeclared wars in the coming decade? What role does Australia play in this? And how will the drones be used for other things, like surveillance of asylum seekers?

A former US Air Force technical expert who worked on the Drone Surveillance System, Lisa Ling has a deep understanding of how drones work in practice, and insight into what this might mean for the future of war. She also brings the unusual experience of having worked as a woman in this technical area of the military, which is predominantly male.

Cian Westmoreland was one of the US Air Force communications experts who built a critical component of the global communications infrastructure underlying the drone program.

Uniquely, Cian and Lisa have spoken with drone-strike victims, to learn first hand what it is like to live under the constant threat of drone attacks.

Presented in partnership with the Transformative Technologies Research Unit and the Screen and Cultural Studies Program in the University of Melbourne's Faculty of Arts, with support from the Department of Computing and Information Systems.