Never before in the history of humanity have we faced having our thoughts monitored by companies. So why are governments around the world setting up laws to protect our so-called neurorights? — Photo: Bernd Diekjobst/dpa
BERLIN: Using the Internet has long meant a trade-off between privacy, utility and cost. Users get free access to websites and apps while providing personal information that allows the technology business to earn huge revenues, usually from advertising.
Advertising giants like Google and Meta cannot read your mind, but they can find out enough about you to target you with tailored ads, sometimes after sharing information about you with third parties.
But the invention of brain-computer interfaces, including implants and headsets, has raised concerns that so-called Big Tech could some day be able to read people’s thoughts and use information gleaned from brain activity to make profits.
Less intrusive "wearables" such as headsets are already available to buy. And the growing use of AI technologies which work by harvesting information from the Internet has sharpened concerns about what could happen if an AI gets access to what's going on in people's heads.
A handful of countries are looking at implementing laws to guard against potential abuses of privacy and data: Chile in 2021 became the first country to come up with legal protections for so-called neurorights.
In October, European Union governments published what they called the Leon Declaration, in which they said they wanted to "protect digital rights in the development of neurotechnology."
Some companies working on the more challenging brain implant technology, such as Neuralink, say they aim to help people with "unmet health needs," such as by quadriplegics "the ability to control their computers and mobile devices with their thoughts.
While the advances could help with "greatly advancing brain science and neural engineering," according to the European Parliament, it "raises concerns about surveillance, subliminal manipulation of preferences, and the collection of brain and mental information."
Mexico’s Commission of Personal Data Protection in November "established neurorights within chapter seven of the Mexican Digital Rights Charter," according to the Neurorights Foundation.
Set up in 2017, the Columbia University-linked Foundation wants to "enhance and complement existing human rights regulations" with protections for neurorights, which it lists as including mental privacy, personal identity, free will, fair access to mental augmentation and freedom from bias. – dpa
