Topic

There are two connected main topics in Nita Farahany’s TED talk “When technology can read minds, how will we protect our privacy?”, both of which are summarized in the title.

First of all, Farahany speaks of mind-reading technology in terms of how it works, what it can currently do, and what it might be capable of doing in the future, often using specific examples to support her claims.

Secondly, Farahany speaks of the ethical and legal implications of current and future development in mind-reading technology. Once again her focus is both present and future. She notes some ethically problematic current uses of EEG, such as monitoring workers’ productivity and emotional states in China (ll. 42-47), before moving on to discuss the potentially disastrous consequences that unrestricted EEG may cause in the future.

Even though the...