When is it time to say 'No' designing a pain giving device?

I just came across the Pavlok a device that by design is to cause pain; Reference: Pavlov's Dogs.

THE FIRST DEVICE THAT BREAKS HABITS BY DELETING TEMPTATION.
PAVLOK ASSOCIATES A MILD ZAP WITH YOUR BAD HABIT, TRAINING YOUR BRAIN TO STOP LIKING THE HABIT.
THE ZAP IS AN ELECTRIC SENSATION THAT RANGES FROM PLEASANT TO SLIGHTLY UNCOMFORTABLE.

I realize the debate about designing weapons that kill people have been going on forever and we are not likely to have answers to that debate here.

What happens when the software in the device or its control app have bugs? What are the security of the device being 'hacked' or used by the mysterious evil 'Them' (fill in your choice of conspiracy group)?

The one that really puts it over the top for me is linking this pain giving device to Smart Meters. Set your thermostat to high you get Zapped. Is this really the world we want to be creating with the Internet of Things (IoT)?

'Road to hell'

...Prof Alan Woodward, a cybersecurity expert from Surrey University, said the more connections which are made between devices, the greater the risk of a security weakness.

"Having a convoluted interaction between systems is almost inevitably going to lead to unintended security flaws," he said.

"I know this type of technology is developed with the best of intentions but the road to hell is paved with them."

"Just because you can connect devices en masse doesn't necessarily mean you should." -- http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-36301778

Having watched my late wife suffer from Chronic Pain for years I will refuse to be involved with any device that causes someone to experience any level of pain. Karen's Journal is required reading at Duke School of Medicine.

Karen's first-hand account of her illness gave an honest, heart-wrenching depiction of what it is like to live with debilitating pain day-to-day. -- The Derrick Newspaper, Sept 8th 2014.

The late Karen Shettler Paddock on cover of the local newspaper.

Won 3rd place Dare-to-Dream Medtech Design Challenge

I won third place in Medical Device + Diagnostic Industry magazine's Dare-to-Dream Medtech Design Challenge.

MD+DI is a magazine written exclusively for original equipment manufacturers of medical devices and in vitro diagnostic products.

A month ago, the editors of MD+DI created a medtech design contest, where we challenged you to design your dream device under the assumption that real-world challenges were non-existent.

3 Dream Devices Take Top Honors in Medtech Design Contest
In August, the editors of MD+DI asked you, the medtech community, to put on your creative hats and dream up a device that would tackle health-care problems both big and small.

You responded, submitting an array of innovative medical device concepts that addressed a broad spectrum of issues. The editors of MD+DI reviewed and debated the merits of each submission, and narrowed the field to 10 finalists. ...

Rounding out the winners' circle in third place is the Intracranial Cerebrospinal Fluid Pressure Regulator. The entry, submitted by Bob Paddock, was inspired by a personal experience; his wife committed suicide after an excruciating headache that resulted from cerebrospinal fluid leakage.

"The inspiration for this dream device obviously came from a very personal place," said Jamie Hartford, managing editor of MD+DI. "The Intracranial Cerebrospinal Fluid Pressure Regulator is a novel improvement over the standard of care for intracranial hypotension caused by cerebrospinal fluid leaks, a condition that can cause devastating headaches. I like that it uses wireless power transfer, which is really the next step for implantable devices."

Thank you for voting on my design. Hopefully it will get the attention of some medical manufacture...

See 1st and 2nd place winners here: http://www.mddionline.com/article/3-winners-announced-dare-dream-medtech-design-challenge