Predicaments and Resolutions for Neurorights in the Age of Intelligence

The rapid development of neurotechnology has been accompanied by a gradual increase in its safety concerns, giving rise to a series of ethical discourses such as neuroessentialism, neuroexceptionalism and neurohype, which have pushed the emergence of neurorights. Neurorights aim at safeguarding the dignity of the human brain, including the rights to cognitive freedom, the rights to mental privacy, the rights to mental integrity and the rights to psychological continuity. Given that existing human rights frameworks are insufficient to address the risks posed by neurotechnologies, some researchers advocate for incorporating neurorights into the broader category of human rights. However, a critical examination of neuro-rights reveals challenges such as "conceptual overreach" and "technological blockage". This calls for an outlook on neurorights from ontological, epistemological and methodological perspectives, with a goal of optimizing and promoting the healthy development of neurorights.