2024-04-18 05:22:00
Following his recommendations, Colorado has just enacted a law to protect the confidentiality of “neural data”.
“This is a first for an American state, and in the world in general”welcomed Jared Genser, co-founder of Neurorights Foundation, during a press conference on Wednesday.
His NGO is trying to alert the authorities about the risks presented by “neurotechnology” devices: headbands to improve sleep, earpieces that help meditate, cranial sensors to play golf better, etc.
They are capable of collecting ultra-personal data, and analyzing it in an application to inform the user about their performance, but also to influence behavior.
“Your thoughts, memories, imagination, emotions, behavior and subconscious happen in the brain”underlined neurobiologist Rafael Yuste, president of Neurorights Foundation and director of the Neurotechnology Center at Columbia University.
The study published Wednesday by the NGO shows that the main companies concerned, little-known start-ups, collect this ultra-private data without limiting themselves to that which they need for their product. And since these objects are not approved by health authorities, they escape medical device laws.
“It’s not science fiction”
“Even more worrying, the majority of its companies also allow themselves to share neural data with unspecified third parties”specifies the NGO.
Specialists are also concerned about longer-term dangers.
“Sooner or later, a company will sell magnetic stimulators to improve memory. This will be the second wave of neurotechnology released to the general public, which will allow the manipulation of brain activity”Rafael Yuste explained.
“And it’s not science fiction.”he insisted, referring to laboratory experiments, where researchers succeeded in decoding human thoughts.
The science behind it is advancing rapidly, thanks to neural implants that go as close as possible to signals, and thanks to generative artificial intelligence, which helps translate those signals.
The devices currently on the market are aimed at a still small audience, but technology giants, like Meta and Apple, could significantly expand this market, potentially to millions of people.
“Apple recently filed a patent application to attach electroencephalography sensors (measuring the electrical activity of the brain) to the next generation of AirPods (wireless earbuds)”note Jared Genser.
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