Neurotechnology and children
Project | Investigating the implications of neurotechnology for children's rights today and beyond
Project overview | Report | Working paper | Advisory group | Explainer
Rapid advancements at the convergence of AI and neurotechnology provide unprecedented potential for capturing, sharing, and manipulating functions of the human brain and nervous system. Neurotechnology offers powerful opportunities for improving children’s health, well-being and optimizing education, but also presents new challenges to child rights that need to be addressed to prevent harm and unintended consequences. If neurotechnology progresses unchecked it can impact children’s rights to freedom of thought and their mental privacy, reaching at the heart of what it means to be an individual. However, very few academic and policy efforts exist that help map, explain and translate the implications of AI and neurotechnology for children’s rights.
To bridge this gap, UNICEF is working with a network of experts to identify key policy provisions and recommendations so that children are both empowered and protected in this emerging space. The forthcoming Guidance report aims to equip policymakers, regulators, and neurotechnology developers with the knowledge they need to address the pressing issues at the intersection of neurotechnology and children’s rights.
Advisory group
We are grateful for the ongoing input of our expert advisory group members who are helping to shape the project and policy guidance.
Giuseppina D'Agostino, Associate Professor and York Research Chair in Intellectual Property, Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technologies, Hall Law School, York University |
Dr. Marcello Ienca, Professor of Ethics of Artificial Intelligence and Neuroscience and Deputy Director of the Center for Ethics and History of Medicine, Medical School of the Technical University of Munich |
Nataliya Kosmyna, Research Scientist, MIT Media Lab |
Dr. Olivia Matshabane, Neuroethics Researcher and Faculty Member within Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University |
Eleonore Pauwels, Senior Fellow, Global Center on Cooperative Security |
Abel Wajnerman Paz, Assistant Professor of Neuroethics at the Institute of Applied Ethics, Pontifical Catholic University of Chile |
Dr. Avinash Singh, Senior Lecturer at the School of Computer Science, University of Technology Sydney, Australia |
| Dr. Milena Costas Trascasas, Human Rights Expert, United Nations |
This work is part of a partnership between UNICEF and the Government of Finland which focuses on equipping regulation for FinTech's impact on children, creating rights-based frameworks for neurotech and children, and advancing models of good data governance and fair data economies centered on children across domains.
This project is made possible by funding and technical support from the Ministry of Foreign of Affairs of Finland. We are grateful for their continued partnership and commitment to child rights.
