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The question “What is thinking?” It’s no longer strictly philosophical. Like anything else that can be measured, our thoughts are increasingly subject to technological answers through data obtained by tracking our brain waves. This breakthrough also means that the data is commercializable, and the brain data collected is already being bought and sold by companies in the wearable consumer technology space, with little protection for users. Not yet.
In response, Colorado recently passed the nation’s first privacy law aimed at protecting these rights. This law falls under the existing Colorado Consumer Protection Act, whose purpose is to “protect the privacy of individuals’ personal data by establishing certain requirements for entities that process personal data.” and additional protection for sensitive data).
The key language of the Colorado law is to expand the term “sensitive data” to include “biological data,” which includes numerous biological, genetic, biochemical, physiological, and neurological characteristics.
Elon Musk’s Neuralink is the most famous example of how technology is woven into the human mind, but it’s not the only one in this field. Paradromics is emerging as a close competitor, along with devices that have returned sound to stroke patients and helped amputees move. A prosthetic limb with a heart. All of these products are medical devices that require implantation and are protected under HIPAA’s strict privacy requirements. Colorado law focuses on the rapidly growing consumer technology sector and devices that do not require medical treatment, do not have similar protections, and can be purchased and used without any type of medical supervision. There is.
There are dozens of companies making wearable technology products that capture brain waves (aka neural data). Amazon alone has everything from sleep masks designed to optimize deep sleep and promote lucid dreaming, to headbands that promise to improve focus, to biofeedback headsets that will take your meditation sessions to the next level. There are pages for various products. By design and necessity, these products collect neural data through the use of tiny electrodes that produce measurements of brain activity, and some deploy electrical impulses to influence brain activity.
There are virtually no laws in place to process all brain data.
“We’re entering science fiction here,” said Rep. Kathy Kipp, the Colorado bill’s lead sponsor. “Scientific progress always requires guardrails.”
“ChatGPT-moment” for consumer brain technology
A recent study by the Neurolights Foundation surveyed 30 companies developing wearable technology that can capture brain waves and found that 29 “do not have meaningful restrictions on this access.”
“This revolution in consumer neurotechnology is focused on improving our ability to capture and interpret brain waves,” said Dr. Sean Pauzowski, Medical Director of the Neurolights Foundation. Devices that use electroencephalography, a technology readily available to consumers, are “a multibillion-dollar market that is expected to double in the next five years or so,” he said. “It’s not inconceivable that neurotech could have a ChatGPT moment in the next two to five years.”
How much data can be collected depends on several factors, but technology is advancing rapidly and applications will likely increase exponentially as it increasingly incorporates AI. . Apple has already filed a patent for brain-sensing AirPods.
“Brain data is too important to be left unchecked. They reflect the inner workings of our minds,” said Dr. McConlogue, professor of biology and director of the Center for Neurotechnology at Columbia University. said Raphael Yusuf, Chairman of the Neurolights Foundation and President of the Neurolights Foundation. Morningside Group, a new tech ethics organization. “The brain is not just an organ of the body,” he added. “The brain is the sanctuary of our minds, so we need to involve private sector stakeholders to ensure we adopt a framework for responsible innovation.”
Pauzowski said the value for companies lies in interpreting, or deciphering, brain signals collected by wearable technology. As a hypothetical example, he said, “If you were wearing brain-sensing earbuds, Nike would not only know from your browsing history that you viewed runners’ shoes, but it would also be able to see how many times you viewed them while you were viewing them.” “You’ll be able to see if they’re interested.”
A wave of biological privacy laws may be needed
The concerns covered by the Colorado law could lead to a wave of similar legislation as the mix of rapidly advancing technologies and increased focus on the commodification of user data increases. Until now, consumer rights and protections have lagged behind innovation.
“The most recent parallels between technology and privacy may be the internet and the consumer genetic revolution, which have gone largely unchecked,” Pauzowski said.
A similar situation could arise if the collection and commercialization of consumer brain data goes unchecked. Pawzowski said hacking, corporate profit motives, ever-changing privacy terms for users, and narrow or non-existent laws covering data are all big risks. Under the Colorado Privacy Act, brain data is subject to the same privacy rights as fingerprints.
It’s still too early to understand the limitations of this technology and the depth of potentially intrusive data collection, according to Professor Farinaz Koushanfar and Associate Professor Duygu Kuzum of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of California, San Diego. It is said that
Tracking neural data could mean tracking a wide range of cognitive processes and functions, including thought, intention and memory, the researchers said in a joint statement emailed. In extreme cases, tracking neural data could mean direct access to medical information.
The breadth of possibilities is itself a problem. “There are still so many unknowns in this area that it is concerning,” they wrote.
If these laws become widespread, Koushanfar and Kuzum say they could force companies to overhaul their current organizational structures. Methods such as risk assessments, third-party audits and anonymization may need to be introduced as mechanisms to establish a new compliance officer and establish requirements for the organizations involved.
For consumers, the Colorado law and subsequent efforts are an important step toward better educating users, as well as giving them the tools they need to check and enforce their rights when they are violated. It will also be provided to users.
“(Colorado’s) privacy law regarding neurotechnology could be a rare exception where rights and regulations take precedence over widespread misuse and abuse of consumer data,” Pauzowski said.
