The Asymmetry of Power

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The ability to do that kind of neuromarketing at scale will become increasingly powerful for companies. And so really what you're pointing at is a new level of asymmetry of power. I think one argument would be like, this stuff is scary. It's both the kind of last fortress of privacy falling, but also the subtle ways in which our brains can be shaped and reshaped without even being aware that it's happening.

We are on the cusp of an explosion of cheap, consumer-ready neurotechnology - from earbuds that gather our behavioral data, to sensors that can read our dreams. And it’s all going to be supercharged by AI. This technology is moving from niche to mainstream - and it has the same potential to become exponential.

Legal scholar Nita Farahany talks us through the current state of neurotechnology and its deep links to AI. She says that we urgently need to protect the last frontier of privacy: our internal thoughts. And she argues that without a new legal framework around “cognitive liberty,” we won’t be able to insulate our brains from corporate and government intrusion.

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