Nita Farahany

Why you should listen

With a focus on the fields of neuroscience, genomics and artificial intelligence, Nita Farahany spends her time helping to bridge divides and foster dialogue about the emerging technologies shaping our lives. She is the Robinson O. Everett Professor of Law and Philosophy at Duke University and founding director of the Duke Initiative for Science & Society, which works to advance the responsible use of science and technology. She has advocated for a new international human right to cognitive liberty that would enable human flourishing even as our brains can increasingly be tracked and hacked.

From 2010 to 2017, Farahany served as a commissioner on the US Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues. Since then, she has been appointed to numerous government committees and consulted for corporations as a futurist and legal ethicist, all with the aim of translating her academic research into real-world impact. She is an elected member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Law Institute, and she is an appointed commissioner for the Uniform Laws Commission. Her most recent book, The Battle for Your Brain: Defending the Right to Think Freely in the Age of Neurotechnology, deals with the promise and peril of the neurotechnology revolution and charts a framework for securing a right to self-determination over our brains and mental experiences.