Neurotechnology is already a reality and will transform humanity, and that is a fact. The big question is how it will be used? Will the technology be used for positive purposes or nefarious ends? Will it be used to reveal our innermost thoughts to others, or to control our minds for unsuspected purposes? Despite all the apprehensions, the truth is that this science will give rise to a new Renaissance of humanity, since, thanks to advances in this field, we will be able to write or move objects using only our minds and will benefit from medical innovations in diseases linked to the nervous system.
As early as 2014, some advances in neurotechnology were already visible on the horizon. Just look at what happened at the opening kickoff of the soccer World Cup in Brazil. The kick was performed by Juliano Pinto, a paraplegic man using a mentally controlled robotic exoskeleton. Since then researchers have been using electrodes implanted in the brains of mice to achieve movements following instructions from the brain. And the advances have been astonishing.
Superhumans? “Experts say that neurotechnology will not only be able to cure diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s or brain injuries, but it will also be able to create a new self, to improve our human capacities, enhance our cognitive capabilities, improve our memory, erase or rewrite it, and even reveal our subconscious,” according to an article in Forbes magazine. On the other hand, this may be the tip of the iceberg that threatens our human privacy, because in the near future our thoughts could be commercialized or companies could use the technology to compel consumers’ buying behaviors.
Worldwide alert “Neurotechnology is already allowing us to access the brain, which is the organ that generates perception, thoughts, memory, emotions, identity, consciousness and the subconscious,” explains Rafael Yuste, a neurobiologist and professor at Columbia University, who has been advocating for years that neuro-rights should be included in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The neuroscientist was at the White House in early November 2021, summoned by the US National Security Council. It was there that he alerted U.S. President Joe Biden to the imminent arrival of a world in which citizens will connect to the Internet directly with their brains, using caps or headbands capable of reading thoughts. Therefore, the major powers must get ahead of the curve in terms of legislation and regulation.
Chile is a pioneer in this area. Yuste has traveled the world raising this concern, and has highlighted Chile’s role as a pioneer country in including these kinds of rights in the Constitution. As a matter of fact, at the end of 2021, the Financial Times (FT) highlighted our country as the first one to enshrine neural rights and further asserted that the rest of the world will follow suit. “Experts argue that rights should include fundamental principles such as, non-interference with mental privacy; personal identity and free will; fair access to mental enhancement; and protections against prejudices.” Guido Girardi was the senator who sponsored the neuro-rights agenda and argued in the media that brain scanning devices may soon read and alter people’s emotions and minds, thereby affecting their “freedom, thoughts, and free will.”
Herzog’s interest. For some time now, the German filmmaker has been working on a documentary about neuroscience and neurodata, in which Chile plays a key role. Herzog filmed, via zoom, a session of the Chilean Senate’s Future Challenges, Science, Technology and Innovation Commission. A rare guest who did not want to miss a historical world event: the advent of this new regulation for the protection of neuro-rights being born in Chile. “This legislation on the autonomy of our thoughts and our brains is phenomenal, historic. What is happening in Chile is unique, revolutionary and many nations will surely follow suit. It’s fascinating,” he told the El Mercurio newspaper in April 2021.
Sharply rising investments. From another perspective, the amount of money flowing into this neurotechnology sector is rapidly increasing. Over the past decade, more than US$ 33.2 billion has been invested in some 1,200 neurotechnology companies, according to data from NeuroTech Analytic. While a large part of these resources has gone to medical companies, another part has funded manufacturers of non-invasive brain-scanning devices, such as helmets and wearable glasses, for more commercial and as yet unregulated uses.
Animal experimentation. In 2022, Neuralink, Elon Musk’s neurotechnology company, promised that this was the key year for connecting our minds to the internet and helping people with brain injuries. With this aim in mind, the plan was to begin implanting chips in human brains to enable communication with all kinds of electronic devices. The company suffered a setback earlier this year, however, when half of the 30 monkeys implanted with an experimental brain chip died, which led animal rights NGOs to publicly condemn the tycoon’s company. As a result, the company has delayed its project schedule.
