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Following the 2009[br]presidential election in Iran,

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protests erupted across the country.

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The Iranian government[br]violently suppressed

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what came to be known[br]as the Iranian Green Moevement.

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Even blocking mobile signals

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to cut off communication[br]between the protesters.

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My parents, who emigrated[br]to the United States in the late 1960s,

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spend substantial time there,

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where all of my large[br]extended family live.

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When I would call my family in Tehran

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during some of the most violent[br]crackdown of the protest,

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none of them dared discuss[br]with me what was happening.

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They or I knew to quickly steer[br]the conversation to other topics.

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All of us understood what[br]the consequences could be

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of a perceived dissident action.

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But I still wish I could have known[br]what they were thinking

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or what they were feeling.

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What if I could have?

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Or more frighteningly,

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what if the Iranian[br]government could have?

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Would they have arrested them[br]based on what their brains revealed?

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That day may be closer than you think.

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With our growing capabilities[br]in neuroscience, artificial intelligence

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and machine learning,

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we may soon know a lot more[br]of what's happening

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in the human brain.

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As a bioethicist, a lawyer,[br]a philosopher

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and an Iranian-American,

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I'm deeply concerned about what[br]this means for our freedoms

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and what kinds of protections we need.

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I believe we need[br]a right to cognitive liberty

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as a human right[br]that needs to be protected.

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If not, our freedom of thought,[br]access and control over our own brains

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and our mental privacy will be threatened.

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Consider this.

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The average person thinks[br]thousands of thoughts each day.

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As a thought takes form,

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like a math calculation or a number,

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a word,

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neurons are interacting in the brain,

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creating a miniscule electrical discharge.

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When you have a dominant[br]mental state like relaxation,

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hundreds and thousands of neurons[br]are firing in the brain,

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creating concurrent electrical discharges[br]in characteristic patterns

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that can measured with[br]electroencephalography,

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or EEG.

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In fact, that's what[br]you're seeing right now.

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You're seeing my brain activity[br]that was recorded in real time

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with a simple device[br]that was worn on my head.

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What you're seeing is my brain activity[br]when I was relaxed and curious.

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To share this information with you,

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I wore one of the early[br]consumer-based EEG devices

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like this one,

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which recorded the electrical[br]activity in my brain in real time.

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It's not unline the fitness trackers[br]that some of you may be wearing

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to measure your heart rate[br]or the steps that you've taken

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or even your sleep activity.

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It's hardly the most sophisticated[br]neuroimaging technique on the market.

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But it's already the most portable

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and the most likely to impact[br]our everyday lives.

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This is extraordinary.

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Through a simple, wearable device,

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we can literally see[br]inside the human brain

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and learn aspects of our mental landscape[br]without ever uttering a word.

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While we can't reliably decode[br]complex thoughts just yet,

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we can already gage a person's mood,

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and with the help[br]of artificial intelligence,

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we can even decode[br]some single-digit numbers

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or shapes or simple words[br]that a person is thinking or hearing

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or seeing.

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Despite some inherent limitations in EEG,

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I think it's safe to say that with[br]our advances in technology,

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more and more of what's happening[br]in the human brain

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can and will be decoded over time.

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Already, using one of these devices,[br]an epileptic can know

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they're going to have an epileptic[br]seizure before it happens.

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A paraplegic can type on a computer[br]with their thoughts alone.

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A US-based company has developed[br]a technology to embed these censors

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into the headrest of automobilies

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so they can track driver concentration,

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distraction

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and cognitive load while driving.

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Nissan, insurance companies[br]and AAA have all taken note.

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You could even watch this[br]choose-your-own adventure movie,

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"The Moment,"

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which, with an EEG headset,

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changes the movie based[br]on your brain-based reactions,

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giving you a different ending[br]every time your attention wanes.

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This may all sound great,

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and as a bioethicist,[br]I am a huge proponent

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of empowering people to take charge[br]of their own health and wellbeing

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by giving them access[br]to information about themselves,

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including this incredible, new[br]brain decoding technology.

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But I worry.

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I worry that we will voluntarily[br]or involuntarily give up

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our last bastion of freedom ...

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our mental privacy.

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That we will trade our brain activity[br]for rebates or discounts on insurance,

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or free access to social[br]media accounts ...

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or even to keep our jobs.

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In fact, in China, the train drivers [br]on the Beijing-Shangia high-speed rail,

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the busiest of its kind in the world,

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are required to wear EEG devices[br]to monitor their brain activity

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while driving.

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According to some news sources,

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in government-run factories in China,

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the workers are required to wear[br]EEG censors to monitor their productivity

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and their emotional state at work.

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Workers are even sent home if their brain[br]shows less than stellar concentration

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on their jobs,

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or emotional agitation.

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It's not going to happen tomorrow,

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but we're headed to a world[br]of brain transparency.

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And I don't think people understand[br]that that could change everything.

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Everything from our definitions[br]of data privacy to our laws,

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to our ideas about freedom.

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In fact, in my lab at Duke University,

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we recently conducted a nationwide study

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in the United States

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to see if people appreciated.

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the sensitivity of[br]their brain information.

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We asked people to rate[br]their perceived sensitivity

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of 33 different kinds of information,

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from their social security numbers

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to the content of their[br]phone conversations,

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their relationship history,

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their emotions, their anxiety,[br]the mental images in their mind

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and the thoughts in their mind.

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Shockingly, people rated their social[br]security number as far more sensitive

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than any other kind of information,

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including their brain data.

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I think this is because[br]people don't yet understand

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or believe the implications[br]of this new brain decoding technology.

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After all, if we can know the inner[br]workings of the human brain,

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our social security numbers[br]are the least of our worries.

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(Laughter)

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Think about it.

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In a world of total brain transparency,

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who would dare have[br]a politically dissident thought?

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Or a creative one?

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I worry that people will self-censor[br]in fear of being ostracized by society,

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or that people will lose their jobs[br]because of their waning attention

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or emotional instability,

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or because they're contemplating[br]collective action against their employers.

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That coming out[br]will no longer be an option

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because people's brains will long ago[br]have revealed their sexual orientation,

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their political ideaology,

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or their religious preferences,

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well before they were ready[br]to conciously share that information

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with other people.

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I worry about the ability of our laws[br]to keep up with technological change.

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Take the first amendment[br]of the US Constitution,

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which protects freedom of speech.

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Does it also protect freedom of thought?

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And if so, does that mean that we're free[br]to alter our thoughts however we want?

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Or can the government or society tell us[br]what we can do with our own brains?

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Can the NSA spy on our brains[br]using these new mobile devices?

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Can the companies that collect[br]the brain data through their applications

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sell this information to third parties?

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Right now, no laws prevent[br]them from doing so.

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It could be even more problematic

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in countries that don't share[br]the same freedoms

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enjoyed by people in the United States.

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What would've happened during[br]the Iranian Green Movement

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if the government had been[br]monitoring my family's brain activity?

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And had believed them to be[br]sympathetic to the protesters?

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Is it so far-fetched to imagine a society[br]

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in which people are arrested[br]based on their thoughts

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of commiting a crime?

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LIke in the science-fiction, dystopian[br]society in "Minority Report."

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Already, in the United States, in Indiana,

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an 18-year-old was charged[br]with attempting to intimidate his school

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by posting a video of himself[br]shooting people in the hallways,

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except the people were zombies

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and the video was of him playing[br]and augmented-reality video game.

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All interpreted to be a mental projection[br]of his subjective intent.

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This is exactly why our brains[br]need special protection.

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If our brains are just as subject[br]to data tracking and aggragation

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as our financial records and transactions,

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if you brains can be hacked[br]and tracked like our online activities,

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our mobile phones and applications,

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then we're on the brink of a dangerous[br]threat to our collective humanity.

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Before you panic,

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I believe that there are solutions[br]to these concerns,

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but we have to start by focusing[br]on the right things.

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When it comes to privacy[br]protections in general,

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I think we're fighting a losing battle

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by trying to restrict[br]the flow of information.

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Instead, we should be focusing[br]on securing rights and remedies

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
against the misuse of our information.

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If people had the right to decide[br]how their information was shared,

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and more importantly,

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have legal redress,

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if their information[br]was misused against them,

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say to discriminate against them[br]in an employment setting

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
or in health care and education,

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this would go a long way to build trust.

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In fact, in some instances,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
we want to be sharing more[br]of our personal information.

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Studying aggregated information[br]can tell us so much

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about our health and our wellbeing,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
but to be able to safely[br]share our information,

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we need special protections[br]for mental privacy.

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This is why we need a right[br]to cognitive liberty.

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This right would secure for us[br]our freedom of thought and rumination,

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our freedom of self-determination

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and it would insure that we have[br]the right to consent to or refuse

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access and alteration[br]of our brains by others.

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This right could be recognized

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
as part of the universal[br]declaration of human rights,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
which has established mechanisms

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
for the enforcement of these[br]kinds of social rights.

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During the Iranian Green Movement,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
the protesters used the internet[br]and good old-fashioned word-of-mouth

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
to coordinate their marches.

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And some of the most oppressive[br]restrictions in Iran

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were lifted as a result.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
But what if the Iranian government[br]had used brain surveillance

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
to detect and prevent the protest?

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Would the world have ever heard[br]the protester's cries?

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
The time has come for us to call[br]for cognitive liberty revolution.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
To make sure that we responsibly[br]advance technology

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
that can enable us to embrace the future

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
while fiercely protecting all of us

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
from any person, company or government[br]that attempts to unlawfully access

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
or alter our innermost lives.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Thank you.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
(Applause)