Neuralink: Ethical Perspective

Context: 

This article is based on the news “lon Musk’s Neuralink is a minefield of scientific and ethical concerns” which was published in the Indian Express. Neuralink has placed an experimental brain device (called Telepathy Chip) in a person in the first human test of the technology.

• Human Experimentation: The company’s PRIME study, approved by the US Food and Drug Administration last year, is testing a brain implant for people with paralysis to control external devices with their thoughts.

About Neuralink Technology

• Neuralink is a neurotechnology company co-founded by Elon Musk with a mission to develop brain-computer interfaces (BCIs). 
  • BCIs use brain activity and brain signals, analysing and translating them into commands to allow users to control external devices. 
  • The initial goal of the so-called brain-computer interface (BCI) is to allow people to control a computer cursor or keyboard using their thoughts alone.
• Telepathy Chip: It is a surgically implantable chip that records data from individual neurons, transmitting it to a computer for task execution.
• Human Application: To restore ability to control digital devices to quadriplegic individuals through thought and intentions.
  • Quadriplegic: Related to paralysis or loss of function in four limbs.

• Vision Of Neuralink

  • To create a generalised brain interface for medical needs. 
  • Enhance human cognitive abilities in healthy humans. Cognitive abilities are the skills the brain uses to perform everyday tasks like thinking, learning, paying attention etc.
• Concern:  To alter and enhance cognitive abilities in healthy humans, opens up a Pandora’s box of ethical and legal concerns.

Overview of How Neuralink Works

• Implantation: The first step involves surgically implanting a telepathy chip into the brain. 
  • It is about the size of a coin and is designed to be implanted in the skull, with ultra-thin wires going directly into the brain. 
• Brain-computer communication: Once implanted, the chip can record electrical signals generated by neurons in the brain. These signals can be decoded and interpreted by algorithms to understand the brain’s activity patterns.
• Data Processing: The recorded neural signals are processed by algorithms to extract meaningful information about brain activity, such as motor commands or sensory inputs.
• External Communication: The processed neural signals can then be used to control external devices, such as computers or prosthetic limbs, allowing individuals to interact with the outside world using their thoughts.

Protocols Associated With Study

• Inclusion Criteria for Trials: The inclusion criteria specify adult patients with quadriplegia from  Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) or spinal cord injury without much improvement up to a year post-injury, and those who have an available full-time reliable caregiver. 

• Exclusion Criteria For Trials

  • Individuals who have other implants such as pacemakers or electrodes for deep brain stimulation. 
  • People whose conditions need procedures such as regular MRI scans or Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS). 
  • Individuals with a history of seizures.

Ethical Concerns Associated With Neuralink Technology

• Data Ownership: The ownership of recorded data and intentions decoded by the device is unclear. This raises crucial questions: 
  • Who retains ownership of this recorded data? 
  • Will Neuralink have data ownership? If yes, what can they technically do with this ownership of “intent to carry out an action” on behalf of a third party?
• Safety Concern: There are disturbing reports of monkeys dying from surgeries and ethical breaches raise concerns about the safety of implantation procedure.
  • The threading of electrodes in the brain will lead to some form of micro-injuries in the brain which may lead to serious neurological conditions such as neurodegeneration in the long term. 
• Concerns Over Testing Practices: A major medical ethics advocacy group, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, has requested the Food and Drug Administration hold Neuralink accountable for violating protocols on biological tests.
  • For example, Reuters reported that over 1,500 animals have died during Neuralink’s testing experience since its beginning in 2018.
• Profit Maximisation vs Business Ethics: There is uncertainty about how Neuralink will navigate the critical issues concerning the safeguarding of patients’ sensitive data. Ensuring that the company prioritises the well-being of trial participants and refrains from exploiting their data for profit remains a concern in this evolving landscape. 
• Equality and Accessibility: The high costs associated with BCIs and related procedures could create a significant socioeconomic divide, limiting access primarily to the wealthy. 
• Creating Super Humans: Technologies that restore cognitive capabilities can further facilitate the developments that enhance human capabilities and cognition leading to concerns including inequality, discrimination, loss of humanity, and potential misuse of enhanced abilities leading to social disruption or conflict. 
  • For example, the US Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA)’s BRAIN initiative aims to improve soldiers’ cognitive capacities.
• Concerns Over Transparency: The trials of the surgically implanted chip are shrouded in secrecy, with limited transparency.
  • Concerns arise regarding the availability and transparency of data to withstand scrutiny from the scientific community.
  • The only information available is through an online brochure, which is characteristically minimalistic. 

Emerging Rights

• Cognitive Liberty: The principle that individuals should have the right to control and make autonomous decisions about their own consciousness, cognition, and mental processes. 
  • This includes the freedom to explore and alter one’s own mind without interference from external forces. 
  • It encompasses the right to pursue modification technologies if desired, as long as it does not harm others.
• Mental Privacy: The protection of individuals’ thoughts, emotions, and mental states from unauthorised access or intrusion. 
  • With advancements in neurotechnology, there is a growing concern about the potential for invasive techniques to read or manipulate neural activity without consent. 
  • Mental privacy rights seek to safeguard the inner workings of the mind, ensuring that individuals have control over who can access their thoughts and feelings.
• Mental Integrity: The protection of individuals’ cognitive functioning and psychological well-being from harm or manipulation. 
  • It involves ensuring that technologies aimed at modifying brain function are safe, ethical, and aligned with individuals’ values and goals. 
  • These rights guard against exploitation in the use of neuromodulation techniques and emphasise the importance of preserving the authenticity and autonomy of individuals’ minds.
• Psychological Continuity: The preservation of individuals’ sense of self, identity, and personal history over time. 
  • As neurotechnologies advance, there are concerns about the potential for interventions that could alter an individual’s subjective experience. 
  • These rights seek to ensure that any changes to mental states do not undermine their fundamental sense of self.

Way Forward 

• Call for Safety, and Ethical Standards: Access to human thought and cognition necessitates robust user privacy protections. Integrated policy making is crucial for user privacy safeguards, ensuring explicit user permissions. 
• Transparent Data Practices: Governments must track how private organisations use brain signal data to ensure that it aligns with national and global consumer privacy and data-collection legislation, such as the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) and the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
• Emphasis on Deliberation and Ethical Considerations: Thorough evaluation of policies, safety measures, legal frameworks, and ethical dimensions by the international community is important. 
  • Aiming for a future where BCIs enhance human potential while preserving core values is necessary.
• Greater Openness and Transparency: Secrecy erodes trust thus Neuralink and other neurotechnology companies must prioritise openness and transparency to build confidence within the scientific community. 
• Long-term Planning and Legislation: Legislation-backed policies are essential to mitigate the risks of BCIs. The establishment of neuro-rights in law and policy-making, as seen in countries like Chile and Spain, is crucial.  
• Ensuring Equality and Accessibility: Ensure accessibility of BCI technologies to individuals from diverse backgrounds, promoting inclusivity and minimising societal disparities

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