Neurorights: Why Minister Pigai Wants It in Human Rights Bill

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Human Rights Minister Natalius Pigai backs the adoption of neurorights protection, or the right to mental privacy, under the Human Rights Bill as an anticipatory measure in response to advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and neurotechnology.

Pigai said the government must anticipate technological developments because advances in neurotechnology have the potential to create new forms of human rights violations, including violations involving privacy and the human mind.

"There needs to be a law regulating this in the Human Rights Bill. One article on neurotechnology protection," Pigai said while presenting his policy direction on Monday, as quoted from Antara.

He said neurochip technology could grow more advanced in recording or processing information about a person's condition. According to him, this must be accompanied by legal instruments capable of protecting individual rights.

"My thoughts could be stolen by other people. So there needs to be a law protecting against neurological theft, because neurotechnology today is more advanced," he said.

He considered neurorights protection part of the ministry's efforts to anticipate forms of rights violations that may emerge alongside technological development, rather than merely responding to human rights issues that have already occurred.

Pigai said the ministry does not act as fortune-tellers or futurologists but as technocratic planners for human rights development, designing policies for economic, social and cultural rights based on projections.

"So if, say, we project that by 2050 the economic, social and cultural conditions will be like this, then the technocratic planning projection must be designed accordingly," he said.

Pigai added that national development technocratic planning falls under the authority of the National Development Planning Ministry (Bappenas).

The ministry will also incorporate that perspective into the National Human Rights Development Planning Deliberation (Musrenbang).

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