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I have a friend who used to be a "Private Eye", just a few years ago. I suspect the kind of work he did will never fully go away. Most of his cases were workman's comp fraud--he basically sat in a van all day, waiting to catch a photo of someone lifting a heavy object or engaging in vigorous exertion.

He had no training photography, but he ended up playing around with his camera equipment to the point that he's now a professional photographer instead, which (to him) is a much more satisfying job.

"Technology made it obsolete to shadow suspects on foot (Hammett’s specialty) and by car, with satellite imagery making it possible to see a case to completion from the privacy of a cubicle."

What sort of cases would be solved using satellite imagery?

I wonder how much of the market for Raymond Chandler-esque private eyes was driven by high rates of marriage, and relatively high bars to divorce?