BMI, Which Directly Connects the Brain and Computers: Brainwaves × AI Open New Frontiers in Medicine and 'Neurorights'

Explanation

'Brain-machine interface (BMI)' technology, which directly connects the brain to a computer, is advancing at the frontier of medicine. By reading brain activity (such as brainwaves) and analyzing it with AI, people who cannot move their arms or legs can operate machines and computers 'just by thinking.' Professor Junichi Ushiba of Keio University and others are researching applications such as rehabilitation after stroke.

At the same time, because this technology handles brain signals—the 'most private information' of all—it raises new ethical challenges. These include the possibility that thoughts held only in one's mind could be read, or that brain activity could be interfered with from outside. As a result, discussions have begun worldwide over whether 'neurorights' should be legally guaranteed as a new human right protecting 'freedom of thought.'

The more technology expands what 'can be done,' the more society must decide what 'should be allowed.' How to reconcile scientific progress with human dignity is a major question ahead, spanning both the sciences and the humanities.