Advances in neurotechnology, particularly brain implants and scans, have raised fears at the United Nations that artificial intelligence may intrude on people’s private thoughts, According to Agence France-Presse (AFP).
According to AFP, UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization economist Mariagrazia Squicciarini compares the scenario to “putting neurotech on steroids.”
Some are recommending caution as the field of neurotech evolves alongside advances in artificial intelligence. Gabriela Ramos, UNESCO’s assistant director general for social and human sciences, warned AFP that the technology might have “profound and potentially harmful” consequences.
Algorithms, according to Ramos, are paving the way for a time when people will be able to directly affect the brain circuits that underpin their objectives, feelings, and decisions.
According to UN officials, even while the technology has the potential to change lives, it may come at a high cost. Hannah Galvin, an epileptic patient who had a neurotechnology device implanted in her brain to detect seizures and tell her to lie down, spoke with UNESCO.
But that only made Galvin’s position worse. She claimed to have up to 100 seizures per day, which regularly set off the device.
Galvin, who later had the apparatus removed, told UNESCO:
I had a strong feeling that someone else was in my head. My sadness only got worse as time went on.
According to Squicciarini, the technique might be “extraordinary” for others, such as allowing crippled persons to move or perhaps restoring sight to the blind.
