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The Battle for Your Brain: Defending the Right to Think Freely in the Age of Neurotechnology Hardcover – March 14, 2023

4.6 out of 5 stars 135 ratings

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A new dawn of brain tracking and hacking is coming. Will you be prepared for what comes next?

Imagine a world where your brain can be interrogated to learn your political beliefs, your thoughts can be used as evidence of a crime, and your own feelings can be held against you. A world where people who suffer from epilepsy receive alerts moments before a seizure, and the average person can peer into their own mind to eliminate painful memories or cure addictions.

Neuroscience has already made all of this possible today, and neurotechnology will soon become the “universal controller” for all of our interactions with technology. This can benefit humanity immensely, but without safeguards, it can seriously threaten our fundamental human rights to privacy, freedom of thought, and self-determination.

From one of the world’s foremost experts on the ethics of neuroscience,
The Battle for Your Brain offers a path forward to navigate the complex legal and ethical dilemmas that will fundamentally impact our freedom to understand, shape, and define ourselves.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Nita Farahany writes with clarity and verve about the promise and perils of the neurotech revolution―offering a fascinating and provocative tour of technologies that have the power to transform our lives for the better and even what it means to be human. More importantly, she encourages a timely global conversation about how to ensure the ethical progress of neurotech to benefit all of humanity.”
―Jennifer Doudna, University of California, Berkeley biochemist, Innovative Genomics Institute founder, Nobel Laureate for co-inventing CRISPR technology

“Essential reading for anyone interested in neurotechnology and its coming impact on our society. Engineering neural implants to decode the brain seems hard to fathom, but this is easy compared to the ethical challenges that lie ahead. Farahany masterfully navigates the issues that confront us.”
―Edward Chang, M.D., Department of Neurological Surgery chairman, University of California, San Francisco

“Farahany poses the critical questions that can guide us as we navigate the hope and hype around neurotechnology, revealing both the promise for patients and the challenge for society.
The Battle for Your Brain is a must-read.”
―Thomas Insel, M.D., author of Healing, former National Institute of Mental Health director, and codirector of President Obama’s BRAIN Initiative

“This highly original and timely book explains why we cannot surrender our ‘last bastion of freedom,’ even as we fight with politics and persuasion for access to the fruits of brain science. Farahany alerts us to a struggle for control over access to sensitive personal information that demands everyone’s attention.”
―Anita Allen, Henry R. Silverman Professor of Law and professor of philosophy, University of Pennsylvania Law School

“Farahany sounds a timely warning concerning current uses of neurotechnology by corporations and governments for monitoring, recognizing that these uses will grow more powerful and insidious. However, she is no enemy of technology. She presents a balanced view of risks and benefits of its uses by individuals, and makes her arguments in the context of a sophisticated understanding of individual liberty and its potential limits in a free society.”
―Steven Hyman, M.D., Stanley Center of Psychiatric Research director, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard

“Nita Farahany persuasively demonstrates that rapidly approaching advances in neurotechnology will change politics, marketing, mental-health care, and dozens of other areas of daily life. The legal and ethical challenges she outlines are daunting, but
The Battle for Your Brain arms us with the knowledge needed to fight for a future that includes individual privacy and free will.”
―Jules Polonetsky, CEO, Future of Privacy Forum

“As a well-established thought-leader in ethics and artificial intelligence, Professor Farahany is neither alarmist nor resigned over current trends but offers a measured manifesto of how we can channel technological progress for the benefit of humanity. However, the message is clear: if we do not institute the necessary safeguards now, humanity as we know it is imperiled.”
―Ahmed Shaheed, University of Essex professor, author of the United Nations’ first-ever report on freedom of thought

“The author’s even-handed approach is a refreshing reprieve from the dystopian pessimism that often accompanies discussions of these technologies, and the eye-popping examples show that the future may be closer than many assume. Readers will be enthralled.”
Publishers Weekly

“An unsettling warning … [an] insightful report.”
―Kirkus

“Ms. Farahany’s call for ‘prudent vigilance and democratic deliberation’ is much needed. In a world where even our dreams can be mined for data, we need more guides like her to think through the challenges ahead.”
―Wall Street Journal

"
The Battle for Your Brain is a superb introduction to how rapidly advancing neurotech can either enhance or undermine free minds."
―Reason Magazine

"The book is valuable reading, not only for those interested in neuroscience but also for anyone genuinely concerned about the challenges humanity will face in the near future."
―Science

About the Author

Nita A. Farahany is the Robinson O. Everett Distinguished Professor of Law & Philosophy at Duke University, and Founding Director of the Duke Initiative for Science & Society. She is a frequent commentator for national media and radio and keynote speaker at events including TED, the Aspen Ideas Festival, the World Economic Forum, and judicial conferences worldwide. From 2010-2017, she served as a Commissioner on the U.S. Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues. She is also co-editor-in-chief of the Journal of Law and the Biosciences and on the Board of Advisors for Scientific American. Farahany holds an AB (Genetics) from Dartmouth College, an ALM (Biology) from Harvard University, and a JD, MA, and Ph.D. (Philosophy) from Duke University.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ St. Martin's Press (March 14, 2023)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1250272955
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1250272959
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.55 x 0.95 x 9.55 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 out of 5 stars 135 ratings

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Nita Farahany
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Nita A. Farahany, a futurist and legal ethicist, is the Robinson O. Everett Distinguished Professor of Law & Philosophy and founding director of the Initiative for Science & Society at Duke University.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
135 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book's knowledge level positive, with one review noting it doesn't dumb down the science. Moreover, the book is eye opening, with one customer describing it as a deftly drawn picture. However, the readability receives mixed feedback, with some customers finding it easy to read while others say it's not very well written.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

8 customers mention "Knowledge level"8 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the knowledge level of the book, finding it an interesting topic that guides readers effectively through the subject matter. One customer notes that it does not dumb down the science, while another describes it as a rare work from an academic perspective.

"...around the new concept of cognitive liberty, Farahany provides a comprehensive, deftly drawn picture of the current landscape of extant and arising..." Read more

"...For those who are working as regulator, it guides exactly where you want to know. I met professor at Duke on the cybersecurity mission...." Read more

"...She does not dumb down the science but puts it in context with the lived world. As a business leader, this book gives me pause...." Read more

"...I found this book easy to read, but at the same time both fascinating and terrifying...." Read more

3 customers mention "Eye opening"3 positive0 negative

Customers find the book eye-opening, with one describing it as a deftly drawn picture and another noting its provocative nature.

"...of cognitive liberty, Farahany provides a comprehensive, deftly drawn picture of the current landscape of extant and arising neurotech gizmos...." Read more

"This was really eye opening...." Read more

"Well developed insights, thoughtful and provocative..." Read more

5 customers mention "Readability"3 positive2 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the book's readability, with some finding it easy to read while others say it is not very well written.

"The book is easy read. For those who are working as regulator, it guides exactly where you want to know...." Read more

"...Interesting ethical, moral and legal challenges raised, but the text is fairly dense and not very well written...." Read more

"...Best of all, it is written in clear, jargon-free, and thoroughly enjoyable English...." Read more

"...But, it's very poorly written and organized...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on April 20, 2023
    Surveillance neurotechnology isn't coming; it's already here. Devices already monitor thousands of truck drivers and Chinese high-speed rail operators for drowsiness. Some bosses are not just monitoring your productivity at work, but also your health and activity via Fitbits, cameras, and desktop software. Emotiv's MN8 earbuds "allow employers to monitor employees’ emotional and cognitive functions in real time." Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) are only getting better, to the point of being able to read our thoughts. Are we ready for this?

    In her supremely important new book, superstar legal scholar, ethicist and philosopher Nita Farahany argues that we are most definitely not — yet: "The same neuroscience that gives us intimate access to ourselves can allow companies, governments, and all kinds of actors who don’t necessarily have our best interests in mind access too. I find this terrifying as an Iranian American because nothing in the US Constitution, state and federal laws, or international treaties gives individuals even rudimentary sovereignty over their own brains. It’s not going to happen tomorrow, but we are rapidly heading toward a world of brain transparency, in which scientists, doctors, governments, and companies may peer into our brains and minds at will. And I worry that in this rapidly approaching future, we will voluntarily or involuntarily surrender our last bastion of freedom: our mental privacy."

    Lest you think Farahany is some anti-tech Luddite, you should know that she is *for* brain-enhancement — a pro-Provigil, one might say. However, having worked on this topic for the past ten years, she urges caution around rapid, unprecedented neurotech progress: "I believe that we can and should embrace emerging neurotechnology, but only if we first update our concept of liberty to maximize the benefits and minimize the risks of doing so."

    In addition to proposing a legal framework around the new concept of cognitive liberty, Farahany provides a comprehensive, deftly drawn picture of the current landscape of extant and arising neurotech gizmos. They are supercool! And also concerning at times. Which is why I need to buy some of them. And why you need to get this book! It's both a microscope into the present and a telescope into the future about something we should all care about a lot: the contents of our cranium, and who has access to it.
    -- Ali Binazir, M.D., M.Phil., Happiness Engineer and author of The Tao of Dating: The Smart Woman's Guide to Being Absolutely Irresistible, the highest-rated dating book on Amazon, and Should I Go to Medical School?: An Irreverent Guide to the Pros and Cons of a Career in Medicine
    9 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on October 26, 2024
    The book is easy read. For those who are working as regulator, it guides exactly where you want to know. I met professor at Duke on the cybersecurity mission. I gave away the physical book to my superior and took up kindle. This is the extension from the understanding of AI.
    One person found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on May 17, 2023
    I was fascinated to read about the current technology already in use both in the USA and elsewhere - particularly the level of adoption in China and the number of data points collected about each user by the PRC. Interesting ethical, moral and legal challenges raised, but the text is fairly dense and not very well written. I believe the authors points could have been made and supported in half the included text.
    4 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on February 20, 2025
    So far, I am not impressed by this, especially if you know what it’s like to be left handed.
  • Reviewed in the United States on March 14, 2023
    Farahany's book is the rare work of a rare academic--applied, prescient, and timely. This work will long be looked at as a first clarion call for the right to cognitive liberty and clearly setting the stage for one of the largest fights for the next decades--aptly titled The Battle for Your Brain.

    A polymath herself, Farahany integrates peer-reviewed academia with popular culture, and philosophy with children's cartoons and video games, from the fringes of the Internet to the decisions before the halls of power. Her work breathlessly and seamlessly shifts from military, commercial, foreign policy, marketing, and academic impacts of the changing landscape of neuroscience. She does not dumb down the science but puts it in context with the lived world.

    As a business leader, this book gives me pause. I run a company that employs over 300 pilots with a strong commitment to safety. This book rightly questions simple decisions I've considered--whether to adopt health and biometric tracking of our pilots to ensure even higher safety. After reading this book, the answer is much more complicated than I considered.

    As a quantitative self-focused on my health, who tracks and uploads my biometrics daily, this book examines the benefits and pitfalls of expanding that tracking to my mind.

    And as a concerned citizen, this work reinforces that policymakers must rapidly establish norms as larger tech companies race to not just control our clicks but our thoughts.
    13 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on March 21, 2023
    If you are interested in what our exploding knowledge of the human brain may do for, and to, our societies and ourselves, this is a must read.
    I study and write about these topics and I am in awe of all the examples Professor Farahany has found, not just of potential uses of brain technologies to read, enhance, or control of brains, but of where it is already happening. I have to admit I've mainly been in the "maybe worry in a decade or two" camp. No longer. The chapter on employer uses alone is well worth the price of the book.
    That's especially true because this is not a one-sided screed. Farahany recognizes that employers—and all of us—have an interest in avoiding, say, drowsy (or sleeping) truck drivers. She paints with more than black and white, which makes it both more accurate and, importantly, more useful.
    Better still, Farahany maps out some legal and social strategies for encouraging good uses of these technologies and avoiding bad ones. Her analysis of the potential for an effective human right to cognitive liberty, encompassing, with differing power, mental privacy, freedom of thought, and self determination (three neatly distinguished concepts) is innovative, powerful, and just might work.
    Best of all, it is written in clear, jargon-free, and thoroughly enjoyable English. We're in the same field, arguably we are competitors (though also friends). Part of me thinks I should be jealous, but, instead, I'm just impressed.
    Buy this book!
    8 people found this helpful
    Report

Top reviews from other countries

  • Mr David K Goulding
    5.0 out of 5 stars Who Knew?!?!?
    Reviewed in Canada on January 6, 2025
    Author is so incredibly educated, researched and career-life-experienced to speak to this topic.

    Inspirational and informative... Excellent.

    Thank you Mrs. Farahany
    PS. I got the EEG band and this book for my daughter
  • Virginia M
    5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating!
    Reviewed in Belgium on April 10, 2024
    Fantastic book, thought provoking and extremely well researched and argued. Truly a milestone in the emerging field of neurotechnology governance. I have just started a new job in this field and I feel like this book has given me a very good head start.
  • PaulM
    5.0 out of 5 stars Everyone needs to know what's covered in this book.
    Reviewed in Canada on September 29, 2023
    As neurotech grows at an exponential rate, our understanding of our how it will affect our privacy, and what can be done about it, is essential for us all right now. I highly recommend everyone read this to fully understand what's about to be a huge part of our very near future.