November 11, 2025

Implanting a chip in people's brains so that they can operate machines with their thoughts alone - this is the vision being pursued by controversial billionaire Elon Musk, who, with his company Neuralink, is spearheading a growing number of start-ups that want to use neurotechnology to look inside people's heads. For example, with headbands, headphones and fitness trackers that tap into neuronal information.

Although the industry is still in its infancy, the United Nations believes that the risk of abuse is so great that we urgently need ethical guidelines for neurotechnology. A corresponding recommendation has now been adopted at the UNESCO General Conference in Samarkand.

Prof. Dr. Marcello Ienca, Head of the Chair of AI and Neurotechnologies at the Institute for the History and Ethics of Medicine, worked on the guideline and explains the issues surrounding the topic of neurotechnologies in an interview with Deutschlandfunk.

Listen to the article from the „Forschung aktuell“ series“ here