Neurorights: a new generation of human rights in the age of neurotechnology

Abstract

The article investigates neurorights as a new generation of human rights emerging in response to the rapid advancement of neurotechnology. It is established that neurorights arose at the intersection of neuroethics and neurolaw as a response to the unprecedented capacity of neurotechnologies to measure and alter human brain activity. The concept of neurorights is defined as the ethical, legal, social or natural principles of freedom or entitlement related to a person’s cerebral and mental domain. Two competing scholarly positions are analysed: proponents of a new generation of rights argue that existing law is insufficient to protect the mind, while opponents contend that established rights, freedom of thought, mental integrity, and privacy, should be developed instead. The main types of neurorights are systematised: cognitive liberty, mental privacy, mental integrity, and psychological continuity. The constitutional experience of Chile is examined as the first state to enshrine neurorights in its basic law in 2021. International legal initiatives are analysed, including OECD recommendations, regional declarations, UNESCO documents, and a UN Human Rights Council resolution. The article concludes that neurorights represent a necessary conceptual instrument for protecting mental autonomy and that a principled approach grounded in established human rights law is the most viable path forward.