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Neurotechnology & the law: human rights & civil liberties

14 February 2025 / Harry Lambert
Issue: 8104 / Categories: Features , Profession , Technology , Health , Human rights
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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

DWF—19 appointments

DWF—19 appointments

Belfast team bolstered by three senior hires and 16 further appointments

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Firm strengthens leveraged finance team with London partner hire

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Double hire marks launch of family team in Leeds

NEWS
Charlie Mercer and Astrid Gillam of Stewarts crunch the numbers on civil fraud claims in the English courts, in this week's NLJ. New data shows civil fraud claims rising steadily since 2014, with the King’s Bench Division overtaking the Commercial Court as the forum of choice for lower-value disputes
Bea Rossetto of the National Pro Bono Centre makes the case for ‘General Practice Pro Bono’—using core legal skills to deliver life-changing support, without the need for niche expertise—in this week's NLJ
The Supreme Court issued a landmark judgment in July that overturned the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, once poster boys of the Libor and Euribor scandal. In NLJ this week, Neil Swift of Peters & Peters considers what the ruling means for financial law enforcement
Small law firms want to embrace technology but feel lost in a maze of jargon, costs and compliance fears, writes Aisling O’Connell of the Solicitors Regulation Authority in this week's NLJ
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve reports on Haynes v Thomson, the first judicial application of the Supreme Court’s For Women Scotland ruling in a discrimination claim, in this week's NLJ
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