I don't really understand how there can be so much back and forth on this issue. We already know directed-energy weapons are possible [0], what are the challenges in exploring the space until you're able to build an approximate match for what people report having experienced?
The most scary thing about these kinds of systems seems to me to be the potential for urban terrorism. If it doesn't leave any trace and it can penetrate walls, it could be used to attack people working for rival organizations as well as general harassment. Imagine a tool that lets you disrupt someone's sleep, using that over months would be enough to drive them insane or at least seriously hamper their productivity and performance. For example: if a rival sports team is visiting and you're able to disrupt their sleep that might be enough to give your team an edge. How far are people really willing to go in order to win?
The most scary thing about these kinds of systems seems to me to be the potential for urban terrorism. If it doesn't leave any trace and it can penetrate walls, it could be used to attack people working for rival organizations as well as general harassment. Imagine a tool that lets you disrupt someone's sleep, using that over months would be enough to drive them insane or at least seriously hamper their productivity and performance. For example: if a rival sports team is visiting and you're able to disrupt their sleep that might be enough to give your team an edge. How far are people really willing to go in order to win?
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Directed-energy_weapon