Summary

Nita Farahany begins her 2018 TED talk “When technology can read minds, how will we protect our privacy?” with a story about the protests that followed the Iranian presidential election in 2009. At the time, her family lived in Iran, and she describes how her phone calls to them would always stick to non-political topics, as the regime might be listening in. She says that she was frustrated not to know what her family were truly feeling, but then wonders what it would be like if she could have read their minds - or if the Iranian government could have. 

Farahany says that the day of mind-reading technology may not be so far off, and then moves on to give a short presentation of herself, including her professional qualifications and her Iranian-American nationality. She then presents her intention with the speec...