UN chief Guterres warns of state misuse of neurotechnology
If governments can access and influence brains, serious human rights violations could follow, according to UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
Archive image · Photo: European Commission (Christophe Licoppe) / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0 (cropped and resized)
UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned on Thursday of the dangers of neurotechnology. He said "neurotechnologies are advancing so rapidly" that governments' ability to access and manipulate people's brains could one day threaten fundamental human rights, according to the New York Times.
As possible consequences, Guterres reportedly cited arbitrary detention, changes to people's mental states and privacy violations. Neurotechnology includes devices and methods that measure or influence brain activity.