Brain stimulation helmets and headbands, brain sensors managed by artificial intelligence (AI), MRI or electroencephalogram readers capable of reconstructing what the person sees, thinks or says… There is more and more research and big data tools and artificial intelligence aimed at understanding, improving or modulating people’s brains. And so are studies that confirm that the use of technological devices affects their functioning and cognitive functions.

For all these reasons, the Spanish Society of Neurology has just created an area of ??Neurotechnology and AI, headed by one of its vice presidents, David Ezpeleta (Pamplona, ??1968).

For what purpose is this new area created?

With the aim of separating the wheat from the chaff of everything that is published about neurotechnology, which with the emergence of generative AI is going at great speed. And at the same time, to overcome the reluctance of doctors to adopt technological tools that put their clinical practice at risk. We must match these different speeds and ensure that the AI ??and neurotechnological devices that are developed are relevant, safe, effective, and respect the person’s neurorights.

As?

It is impossible to analyze all the technological applications that are launched, but we are going to report or draw attention if any put people’s neurorights at risk, and we will analyze in depth those from large companies that can reach clinical practice. Because a technological solution is possible does not mean that it is good for clinical practice; we have to put filters. And we are also going to promote, through the IncubaSEN program, technological solutions that come from neurologists themselves, because we think that it is easier for doctors to adopt a tool that has arisen from a need or a problem detected by their colleagues.

There are already devices that are believed to have the ability to stimulate brain areas to improve memory, reduce anxiety, alleviate Parkinson’s… Don’t they constitute a risk, a form of manipulation?

The neurobiologist Rafael Yuste analyzed products such as relaxation or mindfulness headbands that are sold on AliExpress or Amazon from different companies and saw that these devices collected bioelectric information from users without their knowledge, because the majority authorize it without knowing it by clicking OK on the first ones. screens for data processing. Companies collect this information to train their models or for whatever they consider. And since the end of 2022, with the explosion of generative AI, a cascade of advances has occurred that should put us on alert.

Because?

Because large language models are no longer just about language, they are multimodal, and the integration of these AI interfaces with the brain’s electrical recording allows advances that five years ago were considered science fiction, such as machines that read thoughts. It has already been shown that artificial intelligence is capable of reproducing, by analyzing the signal from an MRI, the speech that a person is making with a degree of accuracy of 60%-70%. And also to reconstruct what you see in images and even in video.

In principle, this should not pose a risk because no one is emitting magnetic resonance signals on the street to have their thoughts read, but then it has been seen that the same thing can be achieved from encephalographic activity, which is recorded by helmets such as that are used for certain games… So that does put us on alert, because the integration of these non-invasive interfaces for brain electrical recording with generative AI opens up great potential for diagnosis and neurorehabilitation, but we must be vigilant that things are done well.

How?

The way to guarantee the protection of the privacy of brain data and that the neurotechnological developments that arise are beneficial has several lines: from the technocratic oath proposed by Yuste, to cryptography, the establishment of ethical bases and neurorights that guarantee freedom of thought, free will, the absence of bias and equal opportunities in the face of neuroimprovement tools that are created, and mental privacy.

Is mental privacy at stake?

Any social network, with two days of interaction and a few clicks, is already capable of knowing sensitive data such as ideology, sexual identity, if you have a religious confession… From that they draw conclusions and send specific messages, and in that way it is possible behaviorally manipulate the person to buy a certain product, change their vote, support a certain option… And since there are interfaces that, by analyzing the electrical activity of people’s brains, can reconstruct what was said, thought, seen or heard, our mental secrets can be revealed, it is foreseeable that these electrode devices will be simplified and devices will be marketed that allow information to be extracted from people’s brains. It is a complex field in which we have entered without realizing it and we must study how we can face it.

Aside from unwanted or abusive uses, does using AI to speed up tasks or for the most complex jobs affect the brain?

The brain is plastic and when your way of doing things changes it adapts. We have seen it with cell phones, social networks and other technologies. Before the existence of GPS, it had been seen that London taxi drivers had increased the size of their hippocampus because to get to work they had to memorize the entire street map and know how to mentally search for each route; Now that they can navigate by GPS, the size of that hippocampus is decreasing. So if you delegate thinking and tasks to AI, it will affect your brain, modify it. The how or the problems it may entail remain to be demonstrated, but everything indicates that it will happen. The delegation of information that we have been doing for some time with cell phones and the Internet has already led to a breakdown in attention and the ability to memorize, which is altering the ability to learn, and that has school consequences.

How can we take care of our brain in the face of this unstoppable technological advance?

The best recommendations would be to do physical exercise (it is the greatest neurogenic, neuroenhancing and neuroprotective factor that exists), have a regular and healthy diet (Mediterranean diet controlling weight), socialize in person (being with people in person), sleep well, take care of the mood, avoiding stress factors as much as possible, making controlled use of technology, reading paper books and writing by hand. Technology is good if it is aligned with people’s needs and used with common sense, and this AI revolution is fascinating, and if it is used well we can make it serve to be healthier, happier and better at work.