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gray_05_sea's review
4.25
Very interesting ideas, but the medical and ethical was much better than the legal. The legal felt like a listing of European or “international” laws, which felt weak, and her thesis of “we need stronger laws” could have articulated actual policies with pros and cons. I feel like some of these developments inspired Jennifer Egan’s The Candy House.
jaredstarkey's review
5.0
The wealth of knowledge and education on current/emerging tech/biotech capabilities and the legislation (or lack thereof) in existence to safeguard our personal and cognitive liberties provided by Farahany is an armament for our society’s continued struggle for personal freedom and democracy.
Personally, I enjoyed the dissection and discussions on the philosophy behind what defined cognitive liberty and when and what encroaches on free will/what should be monitored/where we should be pushing for safeguarding legislation. While the overview of emerging tech and real-world examples are beneficial to drive home content, I felt the latter half of the book committing itself to “new and exciting tech developments” with repeated ideas from earlier chapters. That being said, it’s important to raise awareness and apply “critical and deliberate” thinking to all areas of emerging tech and the privacies we abdicate to them.
Takeaway: Neurotechnology, among other new developments is exciting and terrifying and we’re not paying enough attention to it.
Personally, I enjoyed the dissection and discussions on the philosophy behind what defined cognitive liberty and when and what encroaches on free will/what should be monitored/where we should be pushing for safeguarding legislation. While the overview of emerging tech and real-world examples are beneficial to drive home content, I felt the latter half of the book committing itself to “new and exciting tech developments” with repeated ideas from earlier chapters. That being said, it’s important to raise awareness and apply “critical and deliberate” thinking to all areas of emerging tech and the privacies we abdicate to them.
Takeaway: Neurotechnology, among other new developments is exciting and terrifying and we’re not paying enough attention to it.
billmc's review
2.0
Although this book did pose a number of interesting questions, I agree with other reviewers regarding the repetitiveness of much of the material. In addition, I was astounded by the poor grammar and copyediting. For example, the author repeatedly had incomplete sentences, e.g., on page 92: "Which is why I received my JD, MA, and PhD from Duke." (Same on page 185: "Which is why he believes..."). There were words repeated, e.g., on page 156: ...to keep communication between at near constant levels between its users." There were words omitted, e.g., "Describing it on 60 Minutes, she said [she] felt...." The person listed in the acknowledgements as the editor is the Executive Editor of St. Martin's Press. How did these kinds of errors get through? The frequency of the errors made it more difficult for me to enjoy the book and are a large part of why I gave the book such a low rating.
mooseformayor's review
2.0
I found this book overly paranoid about the whole privacy situation. I get it: it is an important topic, but there's no need to write an entire book based on this single premise. I honestly wanted to like this book as I am a big fan of neuroscience, but, alas, it was as dry as a Sunday mass in a sleeper town.
mauraco's review against another edition
4.75
This book was incredible! Informative, succinct, and accessible in spite of complex subject matter. The discussions of neurotech and bioethics were fascinating, in a slightly terrifying way.
bestofkit's review
4.0
This is a timely examination of some key questions we should be asking ourselves as neurotechnology and AI become more and more common. Should we be giving our brain data away in exchange for convenience? Who should have access to brain related data? What does the future of brain enhancement look like? Without question, there is a lot to be gained from emerging neurotech, but are we equipped to manage the full range of consequences? Dr. Farahany explores these questions and more in this intriguing and accessible book.
This is a great read for those who are using brain related technology, want to be, or are interested in bioethics and privacy in the digital age.
Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for this ALC!
This is a great read for those who are using brain related technology, want to be, or are interested in bioethics and privacy in the digital age.
Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for this ALC!