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14 February 2025 / Harry Lambert
Issue: 8104 / Categories: Features , Profession , Technology , Health , Human rights
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Neurotechnology & the law: human rights & civil liberties

208049
What do developments in neurotechnology mean for our free will & sense of self? In Pt 7 of this special series, Harry Lambert considers the implications for the individual & society at large
  • If a person’s right to freedom of thought is considered fundamental to their sense of self, neurotechnology brings with it profound implications for identity, agency and broader human rights.
  • Neuro-marketing and neuro-politics make use of strategies that tap into the brain, subconsciously swaying consumer or voter preferences without overt awareness.
  • The absence of regulation in these areas highlights the crucial importance of human rights law in tackling the challenges they present.

2024 was the year of elections. Almost half the world’s population voted, including eight of its ten most populous countries.

Such is the increasing influence of artificial intelligence (AI) over voter habits that Tristan Harris, co-founder of the Center for Humane Technology, has gone as far as to describe the 2024 US election as ‘the last human election’.

But—again—neurotechnology

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Harneys—Maggie Kwok & George Weston

Harneys—Maggie Kwok & George Weston

Harneys senior leadership appointments

Freeths—Keith Browne & Jim Jordan

Freeths—Keith Browne & Jim Jordan

Freeths strengthens London Construction and Engineering practice with two strategic senior hires

Anthony Collins—Laura Moss

Anthony Collins—Laura Moss

Anthony Collins announces strategic hire to deepen skills base in the social business sector

NEWS
More than 100 teams from the legal and financial services sectors competed in five sports at the 51st Law Society RFC Festival of Sport earlier this month
Part-time status need only be an effective cause of less favourable treatment, rather than the sole cause, the Supreme Court has held in Augustine v Data Cars
Britain’s new acknowledgement that Israel’s occupation is unlawful, and accompanying settlement-goods ban and sanctions, is significant but overdue, argue Danny Friedman KC and Victor Kattan in NLJ this week
New planning fee rises, wider trade union access rights and a service-by-email trap feature in Stephen Gold’s latest Civil Way
Existing defamation law can respond to AI ‘hallucinations’, but allocating responsibility will prove harder where outputs reach users without human intervention
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