header-logo header-logo

07 June 2024 / Harry Lambert
Issue: 8074 / Categories: Features , Profession , Technology , Artificial intelligence , Privacy
printer mail-detail

Neurotechnology & the law

176249
In the first of a series of articles on the interplay between neurotechnology & different areas of law, Harry Lambert brings us up to speed on neurotech capabilities
  • Focuses on ‘neurorights’ from a legal perspective, including how they might apply to different areas of practice, and how other jurisdictions are seeking to protect them.

I want you to consider the list below. Each item is a potential application of monitoring, harvesting and analysing brain wave data from electroencephalograms (EEGs). But which of these neurotech capabilities do you think are: (a) possible in the near future; (b) possible in the long term; or (c) impossible?

In ascending order of radicality and/or dystopian-ness (if that is a word) here is the list:

(1) predicting who will suffer from degenerative diseases;

(2) monitoring levels of fatigue;

(3) checking that someone is listening to you/concentrating;

(4) direct brain-to-brain communication;

(5) ascertaining a subject’s political leanings, religious beliefs or amorous feelings;

(6) implanting dreams about products;

(7) scanning a suspect’s memory to

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Walkers—Muriel Marseille

Walkers—Muriel Marseille

Ashurst's Chief Risk Officer joins Walkers

Excello Law—John Osborne

Excello Law—John Osborne

Northern family lawyer John Osborne joins Excello

mfg Solicitors—Rebecca Rogers, Kennedy Langley & Victoria Griffiths

mfg Solicitors—Rebecca Rogers, Kennedy Langley & Victoria Griffiths

Trio of promotions announced at Kidderminster law firm mfg Solicitors

NEWS
A sole director can conspire with their own company for the purposes of the tort of unlawful means conspiracy, the High Court has ruled in a judgment with potentially wide implications for business disputes
The Court of Appeal has reinforced that domicile depends on intention rather than residence alone, in a significant post-Brexit ruling on cross-border financial remedy claims
The Chancery Division's long history comes to an end this autumn as it is reborn as the Business and Property Division, prompting questions over whether the shake-up is really necessary
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) continues to show that failing to disclose regulatory issues can attract harsher consequences than the original misconduct itself
Rejecting a generous settlement can prove an expensive mistake, as two recent high-profile cases demonstrate
back-to-top-scroll