Digital Shadows and Engineered Skies: The Systems You Were Never Meant to Notice

From secret sunlight-dimming tests to radar-like Wi‑Fi tracking and AI-guided drones, emerging technologies pose novel challenges to privacy, human rights, and global norms.

In 2024, a pilot solar geoengineering experiment off San Francisco tested spraying salt particles into the air from a decommissioned aircraft carrier to brighten marine clouds and reflect sunlight. The experiment, part of the Marine Cloud Brightening Program, was carried out with minimal public notice and was halted by Alameda officials after about 20 minutes due to safety concerns and community protest.

Documents obtained by Politico reveal that researchers had also quietly planned a much larger version of the test for 2025—covering over 3,900 square miles of ocean—with no formal disclosure to federal agencies or local governments. That expanded test was ultimately canceled. (Politico article)

This sunlight-dimming research is part of the UK’s Exploring Climate Cooling Programme, funded with £61 million by ARIA and NERC as of April 2025. It includes techniques such as marine cloud brightening and stratospheric aerosol injection. Scientists behind these proposals argue they are necessary tools in a warming world, while critics like Michael Mann call the strategy akin to “treating cancer with aspirin.”

In parallel, researchers at La Sapienza University in Rome developed WhoFi, a system that uses Wi‑Fi signal distortions—known as Channel State Information (CSI)—to detect and identify people without cameras, phones, or other devices. The AI model achieves up to 95.5% accuracy in recognizing individuals through walls and across different rooms by creating a biometric signature based on how each body interacts with Wi‑Fi waves (PCWorld, TechXplore).

At the same time, Ukraine’s “Spider’s Web” drone operations demonstrated a new phase of AI-enabled combat. Semi-autonomous drones, capable of resisting jamming and navigating in real-time, struck Russian airbases with minimal human input. While still overseen by human operators, these drones can recognize and pursue targets using AI-powered systems that reduce the role of traditional command structures.

Meanwhile, Russia’s use of drones in Ukraine led to the targeting of civilians in Kherson in what UN investigators termed the “Human Safari”. The drone strikes killed at least 139 civilians and injured 160 more. These actions were declared by the United Nations to constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Human Rights Implications

Solar Geoengineering & Consent

When experiments like cloud brightening occur without informing the communities beneath them, they raise serious legal and ethical questions. The UN’s Environmental Modification Convention (ENMOD) bans hostile use of weather modification, but peaceful scientific experiments remain underregulated. Critics argue that large-scale atmospheric experiments risk unforeseen consequences and erode democratic control over climate policy.

Wi‑Fi Tracking & Privacy

WhoFi allows individuals to be identified in their homes, workplaces, and public spaces without consent or awareness. The system works passively, using a common router and three-antenna receiver. While GDPR and similar data protection frameworks regulate biometrics, there is no specific policy for CSI-based identification. As FuturoProssimo notes, “A person’s body alone can create a distinct enough pattern in Wi-Fi signals to enable re-identification.”

AI Warfare & Accountability

The AI-driven drones used in Ukraine illustrate the growing ability to automate battlefield targeting. These tools can shorten decision cycles to milliseconds, creating challenges for traditional rules of engagement. Human Rights Watch has long warned of “killer robots” that may act without meaningful human oversight. Even when human involvement is claimed, blurred chains of accountability may prevent prosecutions in the event of civilian harm.

What Comes Next

Sunlight-dimming research is expected to continue, with international academic interest rising. Public resistance may grow if trials move outdoors again without consultation.

Wi‑Fi-based biometric tracking could be adopted commercially for crowd monitoring, smart buildings, or law enforcement. Without clear legal guidelines, widespread use could outpace oversight.

Autonomous drones are being actively developed by NATO allies and members and adversaries alike. Their growing use in conflict zones signals a potential long-term shift in how military power is exercised.

Tags: solar geoengineering, Wi‑Fi tracking, AI drone warfare, climate experiments, human rights technology