Neurolaw: legal impacts of neurotechnology

The headlong advance of Neurotechnology brings countless benefits to human-

ity across a wide range of areas. However, alongside with these benefits, the poten-

tial of Neurotechnology to violate human rights has also been growing. Harmonizing

techno-scientific development with respect for human dignity is a crucial challenge

nowadays, given that we are facing advances whose impacts may not only increase

inequality among human beings but may also be irreversible.

This challenge was the subject of academic debates at the III Seminar of the

International Network on Neurolaw and Human Rights (www.neurorights.com.br),

held at the University of Fortaleza (Brazil) on October 28, 29 and 30, 2024. The

Network, officially launched in October 2022, is composed of researchers from the

University of Fortaleza (UNIFOR), Austral University of Chile (UACH), The Ex-

ternado University of Colombia (UExternado) and Pontifical Catholic University

of Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS). The Network’s activities are currently funded by

UNIFOR, through the Call for Proposals for the Support Program for Research

Teams n. 61/2023 of the Vice-Rectory of Research of the University of Fortaleza

(VRP/UNIFOR), as well as by the National Council for Scientific and Technological

Development (CNPq), a Brazilian federal agency for research promotion, through

the Call CNPq/MCTI/FNDCT n. 18/2021 and the Call for Support for International

Scientific, Technological and Innovation Research Projects n. 14/2022.

The III Seminar, held thanks to the financial support of Call n. 37/2023 (PAEP)

of the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES),

another Brazilian federal agency for research promotion, is one of the Network’s

academic activities. The Network also conducts research and teaching activities in

the field of Neurolaw, in partnership with other Brazilian and international academic

institutions.

At the 2024 Seminar, the chosen theme was “Neurotechnology: the Future of

Humanity”, with the participation, both in person and virtually, of more than 30 re-

searchers from different countries, notably highlighting the participation of Professor

Nita Farahany, from Duke University (United States), who gave the keynote confer-

ence.

This book brings together some of the lectures given during the III Seminar as a

contribution to the academic debate and to support legislative initiatives and judicial

decisions that have been growing significantly. To make it easier to read, the book is

divided into five thematic parts.

The first part, entitled “Neuroethics: Perspectives of Neurotechnology Advan-

ces”, brings together five chapters. The first is by Professor María Pía Chirinos fromthe University of Piura (UDEP) in Peru,

entitled “The bodily dimension as the Achil-

les heel of neuroethics”. In this chapter, the author exposes the tenuous boundary be-

tween the corporeal and the rational, an essential theme for a neuroethical perspective

on advances in Neurotechnology. The second chapter, entitled “The belief in a just

world: neuroscientific perspectives and legal implications”, is by Professors Murilo

Karasinski, from the Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná (PUCPR) in Brazil,

and Renato Cesar Cardoso, from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) in

Brazil, in which they analyze how neuroscience has explored the structuring of ways

to interpret everyday events and the judge behaviors that shape perceptions of merit

and responsibility, based on the belief in a just world. The third chapter is by Profes-

sor José Octávio de Castro Melo from the State University of Piauí (UESPI) in Bra-

zil, and is entitled: “Paradoxes of Transhumanism: Impacts on Equality, Freedom,

and Human Dignity”, in which he seeks to answer to what extent transhumanism

can impact the principles of equality, freedom, and human dignity, considering the

challenges of accessibility and the risks of worsening social inequalities in a context

of rapid technological advancement. The fourth chapter is by Professor Monique

Pyrrho and master’s candidate Pedro Araújo from the University of Brasília (UNB)

in Brazil, entitled “Neurotechnology, ethics and human rights: Thinking about work,

mental health inequities and eugenics”, in which they aim to analyze the ethical chal-

lenges of neurotechnologies considering their risks, especially regarding relation to

increasing inequalities among human beings. In the fifth and final chapter of this first

part of the book, Professor Tamami Fukushi from Tokyo Online University (TOU)

in Japan, in her chapter entitled “The Future of Neurotechnology: Co-evolution

between Neuroethics and Neurotechnology”, analyzes the history of neuroethics, de-

scribes the development of Neurotechnology and discusses the future ethical con-

cerns that it raises.

In the Second Part of the book, “Politics and Economic Impacts of Neurotech-

nology”, there are two chapters. The first, entitled “Neurolaw in Non-Democratic

Countries”, is by Professor Tiago Gagliano Pinto Alberto and student Cecília Santana

Figueiredo Pinto Alberto from the Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná (PUCPR)

in Brazil. Theyseek to analyze the delicate balance between technological evolu-

tion and freedom of thought, aiming specifically to elucidate to what extent privacy

and mental integrity are guaranteed both internally and externally in non-democratic

regimes. Their analysis serves as a focal point for understanding the distinction be-

tween these regimes and democratic states, their peculiarities and their relationship

with freedom of thought. In the second chapter, “Abuse of economic power in the age

of neurotechnology”, the State Attorney of São Paulo (PGE/SP) of Brazil, Camila

Pintarelli, aims to demonstrate the emergence of a new form of informational asym-

metry derived from access to neural data, highlighting the need to broaden the legal

understanding of the abuse of economic power, so that it can also encompass, even

hermeneutically, the violation of cognitive freedom and mental privacy.

The third part of the book, which revolves around the theme of “Legal Regu-

lation of Neurotechnology”, comprises five chapters. In the first, “Governing Neu-

rotechnology Globally: Between Norms Fragmentation and Coherence”, Professor

Tsung-Ling Lee at Taipei Medical University (TMU) in Taiwan, examines how the

fragmentation of norms on Neurotechnology occurs as several international organi-

zations with partially overlapping mandates introduce guidance documents and prin-ciples motivated by varied concerns and interests. In the second chapter, entitled

“Emerging technologies and protection of human rights: applying the UNGPs in the

neurotechnology field”, the Federal Public Defender (DPU) of Brazil, Viviane Ceolin

Dallasta Del Grossi, aims to identify due diligence mechanisms used by techno-

logy companies to mitigate risks and prioritize human rights in practice, noting the

regulatory legislative vacuum that still prevails on the subject. The third chapter,

“The hardening of international soft law documents in the field of Neurolaw”, is by

Professor Ana Maria D’Ávila Lopes of the University of Fortaleza (UNIFOR) in

Brazil, who proposes the strengthening of existing international soft law standards,

as a way to overcome the vacuum in national legal systems on Neurotechnology. The

fourth chapter is by Professor Sebastián Smart from Anglia Ruskin University (ARU)

in England, and lawyer Esteban Oyarzún Gómez, director of International Human

Rights Study Circle (CEDIDH) of Chile. In this chapter they analyze strategic litiga-

tion in human rights (across different fields), adapted to the field of Neurotechno-

logy and artificial intelligence. In the fifth and final chapter of this part of the book,

lawyer Natalia Leonor Monti from Foundation Kamanau, based in Argentina, aims to

demonstrate the need to protect democratic systems in the face of new challenges im-

posed by scientific advances in Neurotechnology and its convergence with Artificial

Intelligence and immersive technologies. She focuses on the Americas, highlighting

the region’s leadership in regulatory initiatives on the subject.

The fourth part of the book, “Neurotechnology and Minorities (De)protection”,

comprises four chapters. In the first, entitled “Neurotechnological advancements for

fairness: detecting and mitigating implicit racial bias in criminal sentencing”, Profes-

sor Janna da Nóbrega Souza, from the University of Murcia (UM) in Spain, aims to

demonstrate the need to rigorously analyze the impact of neuroscientific advances on

the judicial process, in order to avoid racially discriminatory decisions. In the second

chapter, “Gender-based algorithmic discrimination and just transition in the frame-

work of the fourth industrial revolution and technological innovation”, by professors

Denise Almeida de Andrade, from the Christus University Center (UNICHRISTUS)

in Brazil, and Monica Sapucaia Machado, from the Institute of Education, Develop-

ment and Research (IDP) in Brazil, argue for the need critically examine algorithmic

discrimination, which is a present reality and disproportionately affects vulnerable

groups, exacerbating inequalities, particularly gender discrimination. The third chap-

ter, “Child Influencers and the Neuro Rights of Children and Adolescents: An Analy-

sis of Vulnerability in the Digital Environment” was written by Professor Patricia

Moura Monteiro Cruz of the University of Fortaleza (UNIFOR) in Brazil, the State

Attorney of Ceara (PGE/SP) of Brazil, Renato Vilardo de Mello Cruz, and Professor

Antonio Jorge Pereira Júnior from the University of Fortaleza (UNIFOR) in Brazil.

This chapter aims to highlight the implications of children and adolescents’ roles

as digital influencers from the perspective of neurorights, investigating how these

can be applied to provide more effective protection in the digital environment. The

fourth chapter, “Veripol: legal and technical analysis of the tool for the detection of

false reports” by professors María Concepción Rayón Ballesteros from the Com-

plutense University of Madrid (UCM) in Spain, and José Luis González Ávila from

the University of La Laguna (ULL) in Spain, conducts a technical and legal study of

VERIPOL, an artificial intelligence tool used by security forces in Spain to detect

false reports of crimes, mainly related to robberies and thefts.The Fifth Part of the book “Updating Neurorights” has three chapters. The first,

entitled, “The automation of the Judiciary: to what extent new technologies can put

fundamental and social rights at risk. The centrality of the person” is written by Pro-

fessor Francisco Luciano Lima Rodrigues from the University of Fortaleza (UNI-

FOR) in Brazil. He proposes a critical analysis of the automation of the Judiciary,

emphasizing the need for the use of technology to respect the centrality of the person

and not be solely focused on achieving institutional efficiency. In the second chap-

ter, “Neural data protection and the need to update the self-management model of

privacy”, Professor Felipe Paredes from the Austral University of Chile (UACH) in

Chile, argues for the need to update current privacy protection mechanisms in order

to adequately protect the cognitive processes of individuals, while avoiding the cre-

ation of a new right, specifically to protect brain privacy. In the third and final chap-

ter of this part, “The Commodification of Free Will: Neurotechnology and Ethical

Challenges in the Workplace,” Professor Aline Passos Maia from the University of

Fortaleza (UNIFOR) in Brazil, PhD candidate Raquel Passos Maia from the Univer-

sity of Lisbon (ULISBOA) in Portugal, and Professor Larissa Maciel do Amaral from

the University of Fortaleza (UNIFOR) in Brazil discuss how the commodification of

neural data introduces profound ethical dilemmas in the workplace, such as whether

employers can claim ownership over the cognitive processes of their employees’,

highlighting the emergence of a new standard for fundamental human rights..

Finally, Professor Keigo Komamura from Keio University (KEIO) in Japan

concludes the book with a brief perspective on the movement that gave rise to a new

legal branch called “Neurolaw.”

In this way, the book hopes to contribute to the necessary academic dialogue on

the ethical and legal limits of advances in Neurotechnology, aiming to safeguard the

future of humanity.

Ana Maria D’Ávila Lopes

Professor at the University of Fortaleza (Brazil)

CNPq Research Productivity Fellow

Coordinator of the International Network of Neurolaw and Human Rights

 

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