Are There Ways to Use the Technology Without Being Incredibly Obstructive?

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The right question to ask is how far can we go in doing these things in a completely benign and acceptable way. I just think we have to start with a basic set of rights for people that says like look starting place of all of this is you have the basic right to self-determination of your brain and mental experiences if you want to opt into this system. There are some great benefits that you may personally enjoy but you don't want your employer to be peering over your shoulder and using it as bosswarelike you ought to have that right.

Every time our brain does some thinking, there are associated physical processes. In particular, electric currents and charged particles jump between neurons, creating associated electromagnetic fields. These fields can in principle be detected with proper technology, opening the possibility for reading your mind. That technology is currently primitive, but rapidly advancing, and it's not too early to start thinking about legal and ethical consequences when governments and corporations have access to your thoughts. Nita Farahany is a law professor and bioethicist who discusses these issues in her new book, The Battle for Your Brain: Defending the Right to Think Freely in the Age of Neurotechnology.

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Nita Farahany received a J.D. and a Ph.D. in philosophy from Duke University. She is currently the Robinson O. Everett Distinguished Professor of Law & Philosophy at Duke, as well as Founding Director of the Duke Initiative for Science & Society. She has served on a number of government commissions, including the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues. She is a Fellow of the American Law Institute and of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and was awarded the Duke Law School Distinguished Teaching Award.

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