Anyone who values their ability to have private thoughts and ruminations should care about cognitive liberty, writes Nita Farahany
Farahany is a Robinson O. Everett Professor of Law and Philosophy at Duke Law School. She is the author ofYou glance at the program running in the background on your computer screen, mentally move the cursor to the left, and scroll through your brain data over the past few hours. You can see your stress levels rising as the deadline to finish your memo approached, causing your beta brain wave activity to peak right before an alert popped up, telling you to take a brain break.
What’s unusual change about your brain activity when you’re asleep? It actually started earlier in the month. You compose a text to your doctor in your mind and send it with a mental swipe of your cursor: “Could you take a quick look at my brain data? Anything to worry about?” Your mind starts to wander to the new colleague on your team, whom you know you shouldn’t be daydreaming about, given the company’s policy on intra-office romance. Then you start to worry that your boss will notice your amorous feelings when she checks your brain activity and shift your attention back to the present.
When you arrive at work the next day, however, a somber cloud has fallen over the office. Along with emails, text messages, and GPS location data, the government has subpoenaed every employee’s brain wave data from the past year. They have compelling evidence that one of your coworkers has committed massive wire fraud; now they are looking for his co-conspirators. Your boss tells you they are looking for synchronized rhythms of brain activity between him and the people he has been working with.
Advances in neuroscience are taking us closer to a reality like this one, where individuals, companies, and governments will be able to hack and track our brains in ways that fundamentally affect our freedom to understand, shape, and define ourselves. It’s not going to happen tomorrow, but we are rapidly heading toward a world of brain transparency, in which scientists, doctors, governments, and companies may peer into our brains and minds at will.
United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Andretti and General Motors boost as Liberty Media discuss hunt for 11th F1 teamLiberty Media's CEO Greg Maffei is eager to see an American manufacturer come to F1, offering renewed hope to the Andretti prospect.
Read more »
'My son has Tourette's and Lewis Capaldi has done more for the condition than anyone'Families have shared how Lewis Capaldi's Tourette's diagnosis has changed their lives.
Read more »
Taylor Swift Asks Fans To Be Kind To Anyone They Think She Might Have Dated“I’m 33 years old. I don’t care about anything that happened to me when I was 19 except the songs I wrote and the memories we made together,' the singer said.
Read more »
Has anyone walked in on you during an embarrassing moment in a game?Alt+Tab was invented for a reason, but sometimes we're just not quick enough on the draw.
Read more »
Julian Sands search: Human remains found in California mountains where British actor disappearedThe San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department says civilian hikers had contacted authorities on Saturday morning after finding the remains in the Mount Baldy area.
Read more »
Human remains found in area where actor Julian Sands went missingHuman remains have been found in the area where Julian Sands went missing, more than five months after his disappearance was first reported.
Read more »