Part 3 of the TED Radio Hour episode "The biotech visionaries"
Developing neurotech can transform how we monitor and improve our well-being. But lawyer and AI ethicist Nita Farahany warns this tech can supercharge data tracking and infringe on our mental privacy.
About Nita Farahany
Nita Farahany is the Robinson O. Everett Professor of Law and Philosophy at Duke University and founding director of the Duke Initiative for Science & Society, which works to advance the responsible use of science and technology. She has advocated for a new international human right known as cognitive liberty. From 2010 to 2017, Farahany served as a commissioner on the US Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues. She is an elected member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Law Institute, and she is an appointed commissioner for the Uniform Laws Commission. Her most recent book, The Battle for Your Brain: Defending the Right to Think Freely in the Age of Neurotechnology, deals with the promise and peril of the neurotechnology revolution and charts a framework for securing a right to self-determination over our brains and mental experiences.
This segment of TED Radio Hour was produced by Harsha Nahata and Rachel Faulkner White and edited by Sanaz Meshkinpour. You can follow us on Facebook @TEDRadioHour and email us at TEDRadioHour@npr.org.
Web Resources
Related TED Bio: Nita Farahany
Related TED Talk: When technology can read minds, how will we protect our privacy?
Related TED Talk: Does AI actually understand us?
Related NPR Links
Life Kit: How To Protect Your Privacy Online In 8 Tips
Fresh Air: Apps are using a loophole in privacy law to track kids' phones
All Things Considered: When law enforcement wants your social media content, do data privacy laws hold up?
Copyright 2025 NPR
