The company behind Pavlok, a wrist wearable that gives electric shocks to break habits, writes about the product, design and funding.
HN commenters bring it up as a device that uses voluntary electric shocks to break addictions, with one finding it plausible but noting the site skips the obvious question.
Hi Maneesh! I'm actually opposed to anti-charities because I think they're bad for the world and not necessary -- you can get equal motivation with a neutral (non-evil) 3rd party, as long as you make the amount at risk high enough. More at https://blog.beeminder.com/anticharity/
PS: As you know I'm a huge fan of Pavlok -- https://pavlok.com/ -- and definitely don't think that my arguments against anti-charities apply to it even though they're both very punishment focused. Pavlok (obviously I'm saying this for others, not Maneesh, founder of Pavlok!) is more about classical conditioning while Beeminder is more operant conditioning.
We are getting to the point where we can infer pulse rate from sufficiently good video [1]. Same for breathing. Eye tracking is well studied. So just combine all that into a single device, an AttentionScanner™ for your meeting room. This device could mark infractions to help in the yearly performance review, or help employees stay alert directly by delivering small electroshocks via their smart bracelet [2]. Contact our sales department now (/s)
1: https://spectrum.ieee.org/smartphone-camera-senses-patients-pulse-breathing-rate
2: https://pavlok.com/
Friends of mine have convinced me to donate ~$2,000 to a particularly odious political cause whenever I perform certain actions, like drinking alcohol or smoking cigarettes outside of their allotted times. I have found this to be remarkably effective in speaking the unconscious brain's language.
Also, this thing exists: https://pavlok.com/
Recently I came across a device that claims it can help you break addictions via voluntary electric shocks: https://pavlok.com
It seems plausible that it could work, but it's suspicious that the site doesn't address the most obvious question: Wouldn't I just stop shocking myself? Curious if any HNers have tried this thing.
Speaking of habits, I just saw a wristband[0] that helps you get rid of bad habits.
Every time you do something you know you shouldn't be doing, you press the button on the wristband, and it shocks you.
That's right, you shock yourself. And people do it. Never saw that one catching on.
[0] http://pavlok.com/
Link for the curious like me: https://pavlok.com/
It's a wristband that gives you electric shocks.
I realize I've actually used one before, while playtesting a VR game which used this to give "damage taken" feedback. I was pretty bad dodging hits despite the motivation.