When the sci-fi thriller "Inception" became a box office top worldwide, audiences were in a position to
However , more than a decade later, the technology envisioned by director Christopher Nolan is likely just around the corner.At least, that's what experts from Chile think.Recently, they have moved the debate on the security of the most valuable thing that human beings have, the mind, into the legal field.
The South American nation aspires to be the first in the world to legitimately protect the "neurorights" of citizens.Lawmakers are expected to pass constitutional reform blocking technology that seeks to "enhance, weaken, or disrupt" people's mental integrity without their consent.
Opposition Senator Guido Girardi, one of the authors of the law, is concerned about technologies — be it algorithms, bionic implants or some other devices — that couldthreaten "the essence of human beings, their autonomy, their freedom and free will."
"If this technology manages to read [your mind] before you even know what you're thinking, it canWrite Emotions Into Your Brain: Life Stories That Don't Belong To You And That Your Brain Can't to distinguish whether they were yours or the designers' creations," he notes.
The Potential of Neurotechnology
Dozens of sci-fi movies and novelsoffered viewers a glimpse of the potential dark side of neurotechnology - perhaps attracting criminal masterminds hidden in secret strongholds by manipulating the world with sneaky laughs by petting a cat.
In fact, nascent technology has already shown how it can be useful.
In 2013, then-U.S. President Barack Obama promoted the BRAIN (Brain Research Through Advanced Neurotechnology) initiative, which aimed to study the causes of brain diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and epilepsy.
Today, the Minister of Science, Andrés Kuv, is confident that the debate on neurorights "is part of the consolidation of a new scientific institutional system in the country, which is now attractinginternational attention."
But many are concerned that attackers could abuse technological advances.Chile's Sebastián Pinera, at the Ibero-American summit in Andorra in April, suggested that countries jointly adopt laws on this sensitive issue.
"I call on all Ibero-American countries to anticipate the future and adequately protect now not only the data and information of our citizens, but also their thoughts, their feelings, their neural information, in order to prevent them from being manipulated by new technologies," the conservative said at the timePinera.
What will the new bill be about?
Chilean bill contains four mainaspect: protection of data of the human mind or neurodata; setting limits on the neurotechnology of reading and especially writing in the brain; establishing equitable distribution and access to these technologies; and imposing restrictions on neuroalgorithms.
Spanish scientist Rafael Yuste, expert on thisA question from Columbia University in New York says that some of these technologies already exist, and even the most futuristic of them will be available within 10 years.
They are already being applied to animals in laboratories.Scientists have experimented with rats by implanting images of unfamiliar objects into their brains and observing how they take these objects in real life as their own and incorporate them into their natural behavior.
“If you can interfere with and stimulate or suppress brain chemistry, you can change people's decisions. This is what we have already done with the animals, ”says Juste.
All the risks and advantages of technology
Today science has opened up the possibility of creatinghybrid humans with artificially enhanced cognitive abilities. The risk is that, without proper security measures, technology could be used to change people's thoughts, using algorithms over the internet to reprogram their hardwiring; dictate your interests, preferences or consumption patterns.
“To avoid a two-speed situation withsome improved people and others who are not, we believe that these neurotechnologies need to be regulated in accordance with the principles of universal justice, recognizing the spirit of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, ”says Yuste.
Yuste considers neurotechnology a "tsunami" that humanity will have to face, so people need to be prepared.
According to Yuste, neurotechnology is already in useto treat patients with Parkinson's disease or depression by stimulating the brain with electrodes. Likewise, deafness is treated with “cochlear implants in the auditory nerve,” which stimulate the brain.
It is hoped that something like this in the future will restore vision to the blind or cure people with Alzheimer's by strengthening the neural circuits of memory.
“This will be a beneficial change for humanity,” he concludes.
So, what neuro-rights are we talking about?
What is neuro-law?
Raphael Yuste with Sara Goering, Associate ProfessorWashington University, and a group of interested scientists have begun to develop an ethical framework that will govern the use and development of advanced neurotechnology: what we now call "neuro-rights."
Several ethical principles that may regulate neuro-rights:
Confidentiality and Consent
Neurotechnologies can get a lot of data from their users (did you know that the way you use your smartphone can be used for behavioral research?), and that data needs to be protected.A human should be able to opt-out of sharing this data with third parties without their consent to avoid the kind of messy situations we've seen in the past with other forms of AI, as in the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica data story.
Free will
Patients receive appropriate information about the side effects and possible risks associated with the electrodes entering the brain.However, these adverse emotional reactions are not usually included in informed consent data.
So who is to blame if the patient on his ownWill Will Suffer From Unexpected Emotional Reaction After Electrode Implantation? Will he know that it has to do with implantation and stimulation? Who is responsible for the potentially dire consequences? Establishing neuropathy will protect patients through the responsible development of neurotechnology.
Controlled growth
Some neurotechnologies are being developed with the goal of improving cognitive abilities.We need to draw a line between when and how these "enhancement neurotechnologies" can be used appropriately.It is also important to prevent possible inequalities between those who decide and canAllow yourself cognitive enlargement compared to those who don't.
Bias
Neurotechnology is developed by people, and people are biased.
More recently, it has emerged that racist biases are embedded in some facial recognition technologies. Neuro-rights should prevent such situations with the help of neurotechnology.
Why are neuro-rights needed?
With the growing business of brain-machine interfaces, it seems necessary to push legislators and human rights advocates to stay ahead of technology and prepare for possible challenges.
Dr. Raphael Yuste speaks about it loud and clear:“This is an urgent matter. This is not science fiction and we urgently need some kind of regulation. Technology is advancing, but if we do nothing, we will find ourselves in a situation where it will be too late to do something. Many companies are now developing devices that read brain signals to control robotic equipment and encode intentions and thoughts to apply them to control technology. The time has come".
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