I just watched a very interesting video from 60 Minutes about the Active Denial System, a non-lethal weapon being developed by our military.
Basically, it’s a system that shoots microwaves at people up to half a mile away, causing them pain as long as they remain in the beam, but doing no lasting harm.
Such a non-lethal weapon seems like a better option than using lethal force in many situations, and I would like to see this weapon deployed.
However, the video points out some problems, and I’d like to comment on a couple of others.
First, they envision using the ADS for crowd control. It certainly could be useful for that–as long as the crowd is not so dense that the people caught by the beam are unable to flee from it. If the people in front are being swept forward by the push of the crowd, they may end up acting as human shields for those behind them.
Second, in the wrong hands, the ADS could be used as an instrument of torture on people who are immobilized so they can’t move out of the beam. (Such a possibility was anticipated by Gregory Benford in his short story "The Pain Gun.")
I don’t think these are sufficient reasons to stop development and deployment of the weapon, but I do think there need to be very strict guidelines regarding its use.