The Rise of AI-Powered Neurotechnology and the Urgent Fight for Mental Privacy

Artificial intelligence is advancing rapidly, and one of the most striking developments is its integration with neurotechnology. Dr. Gurvirender Tejay, Co-Founder of Cyber Qubits, highlights how AI now enables non-invasive brain scanning technologies to decode human thoughts. This breakthrough promises remarkable medical benefits but also raises serious concerns about mental privacy, ethics, and human rights. As wearable devices capable of reading neural data approach reality, society faces urgent questions about who owns our thoughts and how to protect cognitive privacy.

How AI Decodes Human Thoughts

Recent advances in AI algorithms combined with neuroimaging tools such as functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and electroencephalography (EEG) allow researchers to interpret brain signals without surgery. These technologies measure brain activity patterns and translate them into meaningful data. AI models trained on large datasets can now predict what a person is thinking or feeling with increasing accuracy.

For example, researchers have demonstrated AI systems that reconstruct images a person is viewing or even decode simple words from brain signals. This progress opens doors for people with paralysis or speech impairments to communicate through thought alone. It also offers new ways to diagnose and treat neurological disorders by monitoring brain function in real time.

Life-Changing Medical Benefits

The potential medical applications of AI-powered neurotechnology are profound:

• Restoring communication for patients with locked-in syndrome or severe speech disabilities.

• Early detection of mental health conditions like depression or anxiety through brain activity patterns.

• Personalized treatment plans based on neural responses to medications or therapies.

• Neuroprosthetics that allow control of robotic limbs or computer cursors using thought.

  
  

These innovations could improve quality of life for millions and reduce healthcare costs by enabling remote monitoring and intervention.

Ethical and Legal Challenges

Despite these benefits, decoding human thoughts introduces risks unlike anything society has faced before. Once brain activity is translated into digital data, it can be stored, copied, analyzed, and monetized—often without clear legal protections.

Key concerns include:

• Neural data ownership: There is no global consensus on who owns brain-derived data—the individual, the technology provider, or third parties.

• Consent and control: How can individuals meaningfully consent when AI may infer subconscious thoughts they never intended to share?

• Surveillance and interrogation: Governments or law enforcement could misuse neural data for monitoring, coercion, or interrogation, raising serious human rights concerns.

• Commercial exploitation: Companies may use neural data for targeted advertising, behavior prediction, or manipulation without transparency.

• Irreversibility: Unlike passwords, brain patterns cannot be reset. Once neural data is captured, individuals may permanently lose control over it.

As Dr. Tejay stresses, the greatest risk is the loss of agency over our own thoughts—the erosion of what has historically been the last truly private space.

The Need for Neural Rights

Because existing privacy laws were never designed to protect the human mind, experts increasingly argue for the recognition of neural rights—legal protections specifically aimed at safeguarding mental privacy and cognitive liberty.

Such rights would:

• Guarantee individual control over neural data

• Prohibit unauthorized access or use of brain information

• Require transparency in how neural data is collected, stored, and processed

• Protect against discrimination based on brain activity or cognitive traits

Some countries, such as Chile, have already begun exploring neural rights legislation. Dr. Tejay and his peers within IEEE are also working to establish global privacy frameworks and educational standards to prepare future professionals to design systems that respect cognitive privacy.

Wearable Neurotechnology and the Privacy Frontier

Today, brain-decoding systems rely on heavy lab equipment. But wearable neurotechnology—headsets, earbuds, and consumer devices that track attention or emotional states—is already entering the market. Dr. Tejay cautions that as these tools evolve, mental privacy will shift from an abstract concern to an everyday issue.

Critical questions arise:

• Could employers use brain monitoring to assess productivity or emotional states?

• Might insurers adjust premiums based on neural data?

• How secure is brain data from hacking or unauthorized sharing?

Without proactive regulation, the commercialization of neural data could outpace society’s ability to protect individuals.

What You Can Do Today

While laws and standards are still catching up, individuals are not powerless. Dr. Tejay recommends starting with awareness and caution:

• Ask what neural data is being collected, stored, and shared

• Avoid consenting to unnecessary data collection

• Treat neurotechnology as a medical-grade tool, not a casual gadget

• Be wary of “free” devices—if you are not paying, your data may be the product

• Support stronger privacy laws and initiatives focused on cognitive liberty

A Defining Moment for Human Dignity

AI-powered neurotechnology offers unprecedented opportunities to heal, communicate, and understand the brain. But it also forces society to confront fundamental questions about autonomy, dignity, and freedom.

As Dr. Gurvirender Tejay reminds us, protecting mental privacy is not just a technical challenge—it is a moral one. If the human mind is no longer private, the consequences extend far beyond technology. The choices we make now will determine whether innovation empowers humanity—or quietly erodes what it means to be human.