Biological & Neural Integrity / Neural Privacy
SUB-T05-013Neural Surveillance
Definition
Neural Surveillance examines detection and prevention of covert or coercive monitoring through neural technologies within the broader domain of the privacy, ownership, inference, retention and protection of neural and mental-state data.
Why this matters
Failures concerning detection and prevention of covert or coercive monitoring through neural technologies can cause physical or psychological harm, loss of function, privacy invasion, identity compromise, exclusion, coercion or irreversible impact on human agency.
Research questions
Under which conditions can detection and prevention of covert or coercive monitoring through neural technologies be delivered, measured or protected reliably, and how do outcomes vary by person, device, duration, context and governance controls?
Hypotheses
A transparent, safety-bounded and person-centred approach to neural surveillance, combining validated measurement, informed consent, privacy and security controls, human oversight and longitudinal monitoring, will improve benefit–risk outcomes compared with opaque or technology-centred approaches.
Proposed methods
privacy threat modelling; neural inference testing; consent comprehension studies; data-flow mapping; security assessment; policy analysis; user-rights evaluation; expert and affected-user review; reproducibility testing; methods adapted specifically to Neural Surveillance
Stakeholders and beneficiaries
neurotechnology users; patients; researchers; clinicians; privacy regulators; device manufacturers; employers; insurers; civil society