Mind-Reading Brain-Computer Interfaces Raise Ethics and Privacy Issues

Neurotechnologies — devices that interact directly with the brain or nervous system — were once dismissed as the stuff of science fiction. Not anymore. Several companies are trying to develop <a href="https://theconversation.com/melding-mind-and-machine-how-close-are-we-75589" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">brain-computer interfaces, or BCIs</a>, in hopes of helping patients with severe paralysis or other neurological disorders. Entrepreneur Elon Musk’s company Neuralink, for example, recently received Food and Drug Administration approval <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2023/06/09/musk-neuralink-brain-chips-fda-human-trials/70299875007/#:%7E:text=Neuralink%20has%20gained%20approval%20from,%242%20billion%20to%20%245%20billion." rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">to begin human testing</a> for a <a href="https://theconversation.com/brain-machine-interfaces-are-getting-better-and-better-and-neuralinks-new-brain-implant-pushes-the-pace-120562" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">tiny brain implant</a> that can communicate with computers. There are also less invasive neurotechnologies, <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fninf.2020.553352" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">like EEG headsets</a> that sense electrical activity inside the wearer’s brain, <a href="https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000386137" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">covering a wide range of applications</a> from entertainment and wellness to education and the workplace. Neurotechnology research and patents have soared at least twentyfold over the past two decades, <a href="https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000386137" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">according to a United Nations report</a>, and devices are getting more powerful. Newer BCIs, for example, have the potential to <a href="https://theconversation.com/helping-or-hacking-engineers-and-ethicists-must-work-together-on-brain-computer-interface-technology-77759" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">collect brain and nervous system data</a> more directly, with higher resolution, in greater amounts, and in more pervasive ways. <a href="https://medium.com/wise-well/new-neurotechnology-is-blurring-the-lines-around-mental-privacy-but-are-new-human-rights-the-f4c88224d79">Visit Now</a>