Jun 12, 2021 20:00:00

What kind of right is the new human right 'nerve right' that has emerged as a country guaranteed by the Constitution?

In April 2021, the Chilean National Assembly approved the world's first constitutional amendment to add 'protection of brain activity and the information obtained from it' to the article on the inviolability of the individual's body and mind.

It has become a country that incorporates 'neuro-rights' into its constitution. A team of experts led by Columbia University's neuroscientists advocated that 'nerve rights' should be added not only to the Chilean Constitution but also to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations. I am explaining.

Projects | NeuroRights Initiative
https://nri.ntc.columbia.edu/projects

'This is not science fiction,' say scientists pushing for'neuro-rights' | Reuters
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-tech-rights-idUSKBN28D3HK

The Columbia University project NeuroRights Initiative , which promotes neural rights, is of greatest concern that neurotechnology, a technology related to the cranial nerves, will be used in applications that threaten people's freedom.

For example, 'mind reading,' which electrically analyzes a person's brain using electroencephalogram measurement, has the advantage of being able to detect signs of crime or suicide in advance, but it is possible to easily reveal the inside of a person. There is concern that there is a danger of being able to do it. In addition, it is known that deep brain stimulation (DBS) , which stimulates by implanting implants in the brain, can control the behavior of mice and prevent bulimia nervosa, but if abused, 'mind control (brainwashing)' Some experts point out that this is possible.

What are the merits and problems of 'technology that freely reads and controls thoughts in the brain'? --GIGAZINE

Professor Rafael Yuste, a neurologist at Columbia University, is also one of the scientists concerned about the abuse of neurotechnology. Therefore, the NeuroRights Initiative, led by Professor Juste, proposed that the 'nerve rights' consisting of the following five rights (PDF file) should be added to the rights protected by the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

◆ 1: Right to personal identity
According to Professor Juste and others, if neurotechnology is connected to a digital network, there is a risk that the line between personal consciousness and what is technically input from the outside will be blurred. Therefore, this right stipulates that 'the technology must prevent the ego from being disturbed by clarifying the' boundary 'of self-consciousness and what is input from the outside.'

◆ 2: Right of free will
As mentioned earlier, neurotechnology can influence decision-making, so Professor Juste et al. 'Individuals completely self-determine their own will without being manipulated by external neural technology. We should be able to do it. '

◆ 3: Right to mental privacy
This right defines the data obtained by measuring neural activity as 'NeuroData' and aims to guarantee these secrets. Specific ways to protect your right to mental privacy include strict regulations on the sale and commercial use of neural data.

◆ 4: Equal access to mental strengthening
Neuro-technology is not limited to the treatment of disease, are to be applicable also to increase the performance of the brain, already

transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is also a movement to strengthen the brain in a manner that there . So Professor Juste and his colleagues argued that guidelines needed to be developed so that all citizens could benefit from these technologies.

◆ 5: Right to be protected from algorithm bias
Machinery in the field of learning and AI, is a problem that deepened discrimination based algorithm by using the included prejudice data 'algorithm bias' there . To prevent these problems, it is said that anti-discrimination measures should be included from the basic stage in the development of algorithms related to neurotechnology.

In a lecture at the Web Summit , a global technical conference, Professor Juste said, 'In principle, it is possible to read and rewrite the human mind by recording and modifying the activity of neurons. This is not an event in a science fiction novel, but a real success in animal testing, 'he stressed the urgency of efforts to protect nerve freedom.