As mind-reading technology improves, Colorado passes first-in-nation law to protect privacy of our thoughts
If you think telepathy or mind control is the stuff of science fiction, think again. Advances in artificial intelligence are leading to medical breakthroughs once thought impossible, including devices that can actually read minds and alter our brains.
Dr. Sean Pauzauskie, a Neurologist at UCHealth Poudre Valley Hospital, says there are now about 30 neurotechnology devices for sale on the internet, including Emotiv, which he says is the first commercial-grade brain-to-computer interface, "Anything you want to do, you can move your computer with your mind, and you can control it with your mind using this device."
Pauzauskie says the technology is revolutionizing health care and enabling people who can't move or speak to communicate with just a thought or expression, "You could use this device to move the cursor to the letter that you wanted and then, if you wanted that letter, you could just smile and give the command to enter that."
Most of the devices sell for $200-$400 and work by peering into your brain and, in some cases, altering it.
Pauzauskie showed us a headband called Somnee, which has sensors that send small electrical pulses into the brain, "So, it is actually modulating and stimulating your brain to help you get a better night's sleep."
He says neurotechnology promises to not only improve brain function but also identify impairments. He's using it at UCHealth to detect epileptic seizures as they happen, "We were never able to do that before. This takes out all the guesswork out and allows us to change medications in real-time."
The commercial devices are marketed for wellness, so they're not regulated by the FDA, but Pauzauskie says the ones he's tested do what they say they do. If the at-home technology is impressive, the devices being used in the lab are even more so. Elon Musk has developed an implantable chip that also allows a person to move a computer cursor with their thoughts. Apple, Meta, and Open-AI are also working on neurotechnology devices.
Pauzaskie says our brain waves are like encrypted signals and, using artificial intelligence, researchers have identified frequencies for specific words to turn thought to text with 40% accuracy, "Which, give it a few years, we're probably talking 80-90%."
Not only do words have distinctive brain wave patterns, but so do conditions like Alzheimer's, anxiety, and addiction. Researchers are now working to reverse the conditions by using electrical stimulation to alter the frequencies or regions of the brain where they originate.
"The benefits are going to be off the charts. Patients are going to have dozens of more options," Pauzauskie says.
But with the benefits, he says, come risks, "Our brains make us what we are so it is some of the most sensitive data you can share with anyone."
It's the kind of data insurance companies could use to discriminate, law enforcement to interrogate, and advertisers to manipulate. Government too could get into our heads and potentially alter our thoughts, emotions, and memories as technology advances.
"Nobody wants to live in a world where some of these misuses or abuses exist," says Pauzauskie.
But while medical research facilities are subject to privacy laws, private companies - that are amassing large caches of brain data - are not. Based on a study by The Neurorights Foundation, two-thirds of them are already sharing or selling the data with third parties. The vast majority of them also don't disclose where the data is stored, how long they keep it, who has access to it, and what happens if there's a security breach...
This is why Pauzauskie, Medical Director of The Neurorights Foundation, led the passage of a first-in-the-nation law in Colorado. It includes biological or brain data in the State Privacy Act, similar to fingerprints if the data is being used to identify people.
"This is a first step, but we still have a long way to go," he says.
With companies and countries racing to access, analyze, and alter our brains, Pauzauskie suggests, privacy protections should be a no-brainer, "It's everything that we are. It's everything about our thoughts, our emotions, our memories, our intentions."
The new law takes effect on Aug. 8, but it is unclear which companies are subject to it because it only applies to those that are using the data to identify people. It's also unclear how it will be enforced - especially if the company is in another country.
Pauzauskie and the Neurorights Foundation are now pushing for a federal law and even a global accord. They don't want brain data to become like the DNA data that people sent to genealogy sites only to learn they shared it or sold it to a third party.
After all, the privacy of our mind may be the only privacy we have left.
