"Great, they finally invented the neuronic whip"

[threemonkeys]

I find the implications of the technology described in this article very disturbing. The development of an effective non-lethal crowd control device would lead to the effective ending of public political protest. This paragraph from the article sums up my misgivings:

The development of a truly safe and highly effective nonlethal crowd-control system could raise enormous ethical questions about the state's use of coercive force. If a method such as ADS leads to no lasting injury or harm, authorities may find easier justifications for employing them.

Comments

[littenz.livejournal.com]

So how long will it take for this to be available as hand held technology? Which would mean it would be used by the average villian to rob or waylay. And any young punk to "dazzle" passing drivers.

If it can be developed for $US40 million, then it must be easy to manufacture. This is going to turn ugly.

[threemonkeys.livejournal.com]

So how long will it take for this to be available as hand held technology?

Judging by the pictures of the prototypes, it will be portable from the get-go. It should take as long to go from "official" hands to a wider audience about the same time as tazers took. Actually, in this country people had tazers years before the police had them. Scary huh?