Towards a Symbiosis of AI and Humans
/As astonishing advances in the capabilities of Artificial Intelligence increase our anxieties about our machines ultimately taking over, the publication by Duke law and philosopher professor Nita Farahany of The Battle for Your Brain is well-timed.
FRANCIS SHEN, INTERVIEWED NITA FARAHANY ON BEHALF OF THE HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOLS CENTER FOR BIOETHICS.
Such brain-scanning technologies as EEG, NIRS, and
fMRI are making possible new ways to control devices, monitor and measure the performance and attitudes of employees in the workplace, create better-targeted messages in marketing and help consumers making buying decisions.
We've all become accustomed to sensors in our smartwatches and rings that track their heartbeats, footsteps, breaths, and body temperatures.
"It's a very natural evolution to now be moving into brain sensors that can detect and decode our brain activity," says Farahany in this illuminating conversation hosted by Harvard Medical School's Center for Bioethics.
"They're being embedded into our everyday devices, like earbuds and headphones and watches and wearable tattoos. These not only will decode and give us access to our brain activity but also enable us to have a new way of interfacing with technology."
Fahaney argues for the right to self-determination over our brains and mental experiences.
"We have a right both to access and use neural technologies and a right to be free from interference with our mental privacy and freedom of thought," she says.
A Symbiosis of Brains and AI
In her book, Farahany focuses mostly on external devices -- smart caps and smart helmets -- that are decoding our brains.
When we look at the vastly greater capabilities that might be achieved with devices that are implanted directly into the brain, the prospects for becoming "augmenting" humans become even clearer.
Consider Telepathy, the device that Elon Musk's Neuralink is now implanting in the brains of those suffering paralysis with the aim of enabling them to communicate and control devices just by thinking. Given the green light by FDA to move into humans, the world's richest man just announced he's done just that.
Musk aims to be in 22,000 humans by 2030 -- but that's just the beginning. Ultimately, he wants to achieve a symbiosis between the brain and AI so that we’ll all be able to compete with AI-empowered robots.
Musk sees this happening around 2045. AI will become a third layer in the brain sitting on top of our animal or reptilian brain, which is in our limbic system, and our “smart brain,” which is in our cortex.
Most of our neurons will be committed to an AI extension of ourselves, he predicts. We'll acquire an "online ghost" and more of us will be "in the cloud rather than in our bodies."
Google's Ray Kurzweil has a similar vision. By 2035, he predicts, we'll be able to seamlessly connect our brains to the cloud. That will give us thought-to-digital communication, thought-controlled avatars, and the uploading of memories and ideas.
"In The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, Shoshana Zuboff describes the commodification of our personal data," say Farahany. "We have become the product for these companies, with business models built around this commodification. But this doesn't have to be the case with neurotechnology. We can write a different story. There is a moment to get this right and I believe that moment is now.
Safeguards Against Commodification of Brain Data
"The commodification of brain data has already begun, and brain sensors are being sold worldwide, says Farahany.
"They're not used by everyone yet, but when they become a part of our daily lives, we should have safeguards in place. That's why now is the right moment to act.”
We could learn when we focus best, whether we work better from home, the cognitive cost of switching tasks, and the trajectory of cognitive decline over time. For epileptics, the ability to detect seizures before they occur could be life-changing.
"Technologies like brain-to-brain and brain-to-text communication could positively transform humanity. They can be transformational for our health and well-being and even for what it means to be human. I want us to enter this era with the right safeguards in place to ensure it's beneficial rather than harmful to society."
Brain Sensors Optional?
Five thousand companies already are using smart cap technology to track employee fatigue levels, says Fahaney.
"I believe it will become increasingly difficult to opt out in the workplace, especially as cognitive ergonomics and tracking become integrated into everyday work environments. This is why it's crucial to establish the option for people to opt out before these technologies become ubiquitous."
"A lot of data is already being secretly collected, not through brain sensors, but through digital profiles created from people's online activities. These profiles are designed to infer individuals' emotional and cognitive landscapes for micro-targeting advertisements and other purposes. Essentially, you can't opt out of this information collection unless you opt out of a digital life altogether, which isn't really feasible.
"For the foreseeable future, brain sensors will likely be optional—you could choose products with or without them, such as earbuds or headphones. But by the end of the decade, it may be increasingly difficult to interact with virtual and augmented reality without using brain sensors. Technologies like AR, VR, and screenless AI that senses your everyday activity will likely integrate sensors that detect brain and other biometric activities, making it hard to opt out if you want to maintain a digital life."
Keeping the Whole Person in Sight
The more we reduce the brain to bits and bytes, "there's a risk that we'll lose sight of the whole person," especially in those who are neuro-atypical, says Farahany.
On the positive side, she notes, "it's possible we'll discover we're all on a spectrum of neuro-atypicality," recognizing a "broader diversity of human brains, mental experiences and cognitive and affective functions."
"We also need to consider distributive justice: Who will have access to these technologies? If we believe that certain technologies, like AI or neurotechnologies, are critical to human flourishing, then addressing the distributional concerns will become urgent."
Recognizing Cognitive Liberty
Farahany is advocating for cognitive liberty as a universal human right, rooting much of her thinking in the work of Dr. Ahmed Shaheed, the United Nations' former special rapporteur on freedom of religion and thought.
The mechanism she suggests for recognizing cognitive liberty involves three components reflected within international human rights law:
updating privacy to include mental privacy;
updating freedom of thought to include freedom from interception, manipulation, and punishment of our thoughts, and,
an emphasis on self-determination.
"I locate it within international human rights law because I believe it's a global right that needs recognition, with both legal power and normative potential internationally. It should be set as both a legal and societal norm.'
Implemention would require national legislation and context-specific legislation.
For example, employment law should address the collection of brain biometric data in the workplace, defining individual rights and when mental privacy might yield to societal interests. Other aspects include data use agreements, where laws like theGDPR and various U.S. laws address biometric data collection and use.
"We must consider whether to treat brain data as part of these broader biometric laws, carve out something uniquely sensitive for brain data, or focus on the inferences drawn from data about our brains and mental experiences. I favor focusing on the inferences that can be drawn but also recognize the unique nature of directly accessing brain activity and its chilling effect."
"I've spoken with the founder of OpenBCI about what data use agreements could look like, enabling personal control through technologies like Web3 or blockchain. This would allow interoperability and standards for sharing data, facilitating insights into our brains and addressing neurological diseases and suffering. Many within the neurotech industry are exploring options to give people personal control over their brain data."
Conversations with Seniors
"Many seniors quickly see the dystopian side of neurotechnology's advance and find it hard to believe that the promise could outweigh the risks," Fahaney says.
"It's possible that the future could become dystopian, but I'm hopeful we can get ahead of it. I believe the potential benefits for brain health and wellness, and understanding the burden of neurological disease and suffering, are promising enough that we can realize a better future.
"But the most common sentiment remains, 'Thank goodness I will not be alive.'"
