Trend Consumer neurotechnology spreading beyond clinics and generating neurodata

Summary

The report suggests that after years of arguing over who controls our data, the next question is who controls what happens inside our heads, and under what rules. Examples include headphones that measure attention, devices that detect emotional states and interfaces that read brain activity to tailor ads or assess employees. Driven by the convergence of neuroscience, sensors and AI, neurotechnology is leaving hospitals and labs for wellness, education, work and entertainment, producing neurodata, a highly sensitive category of information that can access, infer and even influence thoughts, emotions and cognitive states. The brain acts as a unique biometric identifier, as distinctive as a fingerprint or genetic profile, and can reveal things people do not know about themselves. The same interface that gathers data can also deliver stimuli that alter brain activity, and combined with AI this ability becomes increasingly precise and personalised. The report argues that there is no clear precedent for a technology that both observes and intervenes in mental processes, posing unprecedented challenges for autonomy and fundamental rights.