The European Union’s new Artificial Intelligence Law could open the door for AI to access our subconscious minds. 95% of our brain activity occurs below the level of consciousness, without us really having control over it. Influence the US election or the future of UK politics with the personal information millions of people post on Facebook and advanced data analysis technology. Not long ago, something like this might have seemed like something out of a science fiction novel, but the Cambridge Analytica scandal, which came to light in 2018, shows that this is possible and that advances in technology and machine intelligence put us ahead. a fundamental dilemma that we have never considered before.

The neurorights initiative, led by the Neurorights Foundation, promotes the recognition of a new set of protective measures to address the challenges arising from these technical advances. Some of this is part of the debate regarding the Artificial Intelligence Act currently being negotiated within the European Union, a law that should regulate, among other things, the ability of AI to influence people’s subconscious (as in the case of Cambridge Analytica, but at the level deeper). Ignasi Beltran de Heredia, professor of Legal Studies and Political Science at the Open University of Catalonia (UOC) and author of the book Artificial Intelligence and Neurorights (Aranzadi, 2023), has just published an open article analyzing the emerging challenges. advances in AI and questions the latest EU legislation proposals through a neuroscience perspective.

The risk of giving AI access to our subconscious

It is estimated that only 5% of our brain activity occurs consciously. The remaining 95% operates below the conscious level, without us really being able to control it or even being aware of it.

As Ignasi Beltran de Heredia points out in his article, we do not notice this extraordinary flow of neural activity because the interaction between conscious thought and subconscious behavior is extremely complex, and the forces that guide our lives are far beyond our control. However, that doesn’t mean there are no ways to have an influence outside of awareness. “Artificial intelligence can do this in two ways,” the researcher said. «The first, collects data about our lives and creates a decision architecture that leads you to make certain decisions. Others, currently less developed, consist of applications or devices that directly generate impulses that our subconscious mind cannot resist and that subliminally manage to generate impulsive responses, that is, create impulses. “As we develop better and more powerful machines and become more connected to them, both options will become more common. “Algorithms will have more data about our lives and it will be easier to create instruments that generate impulse responses,” added Beltran de Heredia.

“The risk posed by this technology is that, like the Pied Piper, people end up dancing without knowing why.” For researchers, an area where we will likely start to see efforts to condition human behavior through AI is the area of ​​work and, more specifically, the area of ​​occupational health. He argues that there are a variety of intrusive technologies in use, such as devices to monitor bus drivers’ microsleeps or electroencephalography (EEG) sensors, which allow employers to track employees’ brain waves to detect stress and attention levels while they work.

“It is difficult to make projections about what the future will look like, but if we do not limit these types of intrusive technologies, which are still in very early stages of development, it is likely that they will continue to develop and develop. spread for the sake of productivity,” stressed Beltran de Heredia, who is also director of Legal Studies and Political Science at UOC.

The (fuzzy) limits proposed by the EU

New artificial intelligence regulations being debated in the European Union aim to anticipate possible risks arising from these and other future uses of AI. Article 5.1 of the original bill included a strict prohibition against the marketing, use or utilization of AI capable of influencing beyond the level of awareness of a person to change their behavior. However, since then, amendments and modifications have been made that weaken the force of this prohibition.

The proposal currently under discussion, and which will serve as a reference for the final draft, establishes a ban on these types of techniques if they are intentionally manipulative or deceptive and that they seriously affect a person’s ability to make appropriate decisions, causing that person to make decisions. that they won’t take and that causes significant harm to someone. This prohibition also does not apply to AI systems for approved therapeutic purposes. “The proposals include a ban if there is serious harm and the person ends up doing something they would not otherwise do. But it is not possible. If I did not have access to my subconscious, it would be impossible for me to be able to prove what else I would do if I were not stimulated or prove the damage,” explains Ignasi Beltran de Heredia.

“If subliminal advertising is completely banned today, without any nuance, why are we making room for subliminal conditioning through artificial intelligence?” Researchers argue that, if we leave the door to our subconscious open, even for good purposes, we will not be able to control who has access to it, what that access looks like, and what goals we want to achieve. “One might think that these reflections appeal to an unattainable dystopian future. However, there is no doubt that we have been victims of intrusion at a rate unimaginable just a few years ago and, therefore, citizens must be afforded the highest level of protection. Our subconscious mind refers to the most intimate part of our personality and must be protected completely. “In fact, these things should not be talked about,” he added.

There is still a lot we don’t know about how our brains work and the relationship between the conscious and subconscious minds. The brain continues to be a very difficult organ to understand and, although science is advancing at a rapid and rapid pace, we do not know much about the impact certain stimuli have on its function.

“We must be aware of the risks involved in giving other people and companies access to the depths of who we are. In the context of the data economy, there are many public and private institutions competing for access to our information, but, paradoxically, there are many examples showing that citizens have little regard for privacy,” concludes Beltran de Heredia. .