Neurorights: A New Legal and Ethical Frontier
Keywords:
Neuroprosthesis, Human Rights, Neurotechnology, Psychological Integrity, Brain Privacy, Neuroethics, NeurorightsAbstract
Rapid advances in neurotechnology pose significant ethical and legal challenges related to privacy and mental integrity. In response, the field of "neurorights" has emerged to regulate the impact of these emerging technologies. This article analyzes the origin of the neurorights concept and its development as a new field of applied law and ethics. It explores the philosophical implications and risks to personal autonomy posed by controversial uses of techniques such as brain monitoring. It also examines current regulatory debates, focusing on the pioneering case of Chile. It concludes by highlighting the need for new legal frameworks and ethical commitments to guarantee respect for mental privacy and other fundamental human rights.
References
Bublitz, J. C., & Merkel, R. (2014). Crimes against minds: On mental manipulations, harms and a human right to mental self-determination. Criminal Law and Philosophy, 8(1), 51-77. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11572-012-9172-y
Cepeda, M.J. (2021). Proyecto de Ley Estatutaria de Neuroderechos. Gaceta del Congreso 690 de 2021. Congreso de la República de Colombia. https://www.camara.gov.co/proyecto-de-ley-estatutaria-neuroderechos
Constitution of the Republic of Chile. (2022). National Congress Library of Chile. https://www.bcn.cl/leychile/navegar?idNorma=1163991
Fenton, A., & Alpert, S. (2017). Extending the scope of neuroethics: A proposal for the ethical use of neuroscience in international security and diplomacy. Journal of Neuroethics, 10(2), 227-238. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12152-017-9321-z
Gilbert, F., Goddard, E., Viaña, J. N. M., Carter, A., & Horne, M. (2018). I spy with my little eye: The ethics of invasive neurotechnologies for augmenting human cognition. AJOB Neuroscience, 9(3), 137-144. https://doi.org/10.1080/21507740.2018.1487202
Greely, H. T., Ramos, K. M., & Grady, C. (2021). Neuroethics in the age of brain projects. Neuron, 109(3), 398-410. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2020.11.025
Henschke, A. (2018). Response and responsibility: Neuroethics as intercultural discourse. Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics, 27(1), 37-46. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0963180117000530
Ienca, M., & Andorno, R. (2017). Towards new human rights in the age of neuroscience and neurotechnology. Life Sciences, Society and Policy, 13(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40504-017-0050-1
Illes, J. (2021). Neuroethics: Defining ethics in emerging neurotechnologies. Nature Reviews Neurology, 17(9), 515-516. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41582-021-00526-5
Johnson, L. S., Rozzi, S., Fregni, F., & Haselager, P. (2021). An ethical framework for the responsible adoption of brain–computer interface technologies. AI and Ethics, 1(4), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43681-021-00038-9
Kellmeyer, P. (2021). The ethics of neuroenhancement—20 years later. AJOB Neuroscience, 12(4), 210-212. https://doi.org/10.1080/21507740.2021.1975128
Kondziella, D., & Hansen, S. N. (2021). The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and brain data. Brain Communications, 3(3). https://doi.org/10.1093/braincomms/fcab178
Lampert, A. (2022). Neuroderechos en Chile: desafíos regulatorios. Revista Chilena de Derecho y Tecnología, 7(1), 105-117.
Lanzilao, E., Shook, J. R., Benedikter, R., & Giordano, J. (2022). Advancing neurorights: An international treaty proposal. Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics, 31(1), 27-42. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0963180121000681
Lavazza, A., & Gardella, E. (2019). Cerebral organoids: Ethical issues and consciousness assessment. Journal of Medical Ethics, 45(9), 606-610. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/medethics-2018-105153
Law No. 21,155. (2021). Regulates the protection and processing of personal data and creates the Personal Data Protection Agency. National Congress of Chile. https://www.bcn.cl/leychile/navegar?idNorma=1143981
Marks, J. H. (2020). Emerging human rights for neurorights and cognitive liberty. The Yale Journal of Law and Technology, 22(54), 54-123.
Musk, E., & Neuralink. (2019, July 16). An integrated brain-machine interface platform with thousands of channels. BioRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/703801
Political Constitution of the Republic of Chile. (2022). National Congress Library of Chile. https://www.bcn.cl/leychile/navegar?idNorma=1163991
Pywell, S. E. (2021). On the borderland between neuroscience and law: On brain privacy and cognitive liberty interests. Brain Communications, 4(1). https://doi.org/10.1093/braincomms/fcac008
Racine, E., Jox, R. J., Illes, J., & Kondziella, D. (2017). Observations on neuroethics 1995-2015. AJOB Neuroscience, 8(2), 72-82. https://doi.org/10.1080/21507740.2017.1320350
Ramirez, E. J. (2022). Neuroethics: Expectations and uncertainties for ethics in the development of neuroscience. Interdisciplinaria, 39(1), 203-219.
Rao, M., Umar, I., Khan, Z., Saleem, S., & Han, U. (2022). Neuroethics and neuro-rights discourses: A systematic review. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 16. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2022.834408
Requena, C. (2022). Neuro-rights in Latin America. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 31(6), 581-588. https://doi.org/10.1177/09637214221103838
Rommelfanger, K. S., Jeong, S.-J., Ema, A., Fukushi, T., Kasai, K., Ramos, K. M., Salles, A., & Singh, I. (2018). Neuroethics questions to guide ethical research in the international brain initiatives. Neuron, 100(1), 19-36. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2018.09.021
Sententia, W. (2004). Neuroethical considerations: cognitive liberty and converging technologies for improving human cognition. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1013(1), 221-228. https://doi.org/10.1196/annals.1305.014
Tirosh, N. G., & Levallois, C. (2022). Neuroethics and responsible research and innovation in brain science. Neuroethics, 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12152-022-09548-1
UNESCO. (2021). Draft text of a Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000380455
Yuste, R., & Brayne, S. (2014). The future of neuroethics. Nature Human Behaviour, 2(13). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-018-0519-1
Yuste, R., Goering, S., Bi, G., Carmena, J. M., Carter, A., Fins, J. J., Friesen, P., Gallant, J., Huggins, J. E., Illes, J., Kellmeyer, P., Klein, E., Maricle, D., Mitchell, C., Mukamel, R., Parens, E., Pham, M., Rubel, A., Sadato, N., ... & Schneider, W. (2017). Four ethical priorities for neurotechnologies and AI. Nature, 551(7679), 159-163. https://doi.org/10.1038/551159a
Downloads
Additional Files
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Multidisciplinary & Health Education Journal
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.