Readings from the other desks
The neurotechnology baseline is read through each steward’s lens, then once as a whole. Each lens is a projection of reviewed findings, not a separate argument. The other desks’ own editions of this subject are listed first, as cross-references, not copies.
Contents
- ·Edition home
- ·Executive summary
- 1Neurotechnology is clinical hardware and a new class of personal data
- 2Key findings
- 3Systems and sectors at baseline
- 4Risks and capability
- 5Consumer neural data outside medical rules
- 6Readings from the other desks
- 6.1 The other desks’ editions of this subject
- 6.2 Three lenses
- 6.3 Standards, Academy and steward contributions
- 6.4 GCRI reading: the model card
- 6.5 Global Risks Forum reading: editorial essays
- 6.6 Global Risks Alliance reading: 2027 neurotechnology readiness pack
- 6.7 Nexus Standards reading: standards and regulatory watch
- 6.8 Risk Academy reading: literature and evidence review, science and assessments
- 7The 2027 agenda
- 8Systems in depth
- AMethodology
- BData appendix
- CReferences and record
- ·Complete edition, for print
6.1The other desks’ editions of this subject
Federation: each desk writes its own edition for the subjects in its remit. Until a desk releases, its edition shows its frame and the reading this edition printed for it.
| Desk | Edition | State | Identifier |
|---|---|---|---|
| GCRI Systems Evidence | No edition of this subject at this desk in the 2026 Baseline cycle | Not in this cycle | |
| GRF Public Deliberation | Outside this desk’s remit | Not in remit | |
| GRA Capital Readiness | Outside this desk’s remit | Not in remit | |
| Standards Progress | No edition of this subject at this desk in the 2026 Baseline cycle | Not in this cycle | |
| Academy Capability | No edition of this subject at this desk in the 2026 Baseline cycle | Not in this cycle | |
| Index Measurement | Outside this desk’s remit | Not in remit |
6.2Three lenses
One edition, read by each steward. The lens of this site comes first.
GCRI · KEY T
Technical Truth
The evidence supports reading neurotechnology as clinical hardware and as a source of personal data. Clinical results are real in single participants, rules are being written, and the footprint, workforce and market are not measured on a common basis. Evidence is strongest for single studies and weakest for durability, power and market size.
INF-001 · DAT-006 · GOV-008 · SYS-012
GRF · KEY M
Public Meaning
For most people the neurotechnology story arrives as a headline about a brain implant or a question about mental privacy. The baseline asks that public debate separate peer-reviewed results from company statements, and keep the protection of neural data in view.
DAT-006 · GOV-007 · FIN-011
GRA · KEY F
Capital Meaning
Readiness implications only. Rounds are large and rest on company statements, market estimates differ widely and reimbursement is not reviewed2029. These show where finance-readiness evidence will matter. Nothing here is advice, a rating or an authorisation.
FIN-011 · GOV-010
NEXUS
Synthesis
Neurotechnology is well described by single results and thinly measured as a system. The 2027 programme should map neural data rules, publish comparable durability and power figures and test the consumer data pathway.
SYS-012 · N-01 · N-02
6.3Standards, Academy and steward contributions
How the Nexus Standards drafts, the Risk Academy and the three stewards feed each quarterly edition for neurotechnology. The standards are a preparatory working draft (2026) and are cited as drafts, never as adopted standards.
| Quarter | Edition | Question | Boundary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 | State and Agenda | What matters this year, and what is the starting position? | observed baseline stays distinct from planned work |
| Q2 | Evidence and Build | What new evidence and capability exist? | a configured capability is not a validated result |
| Q3 | Stress Test and Readiness | What do scenarios and tests show? | simulated loss or performance is not observed impact |
| Q4 | Annual Synthesis and Renewal | What changed in the year, and what renews? | release follows review, not event publicity deadlines |
| Steward or body | Role | Contribution route |
|---|---|---|
| The Global Centre for Risk and Innovation (GCRI Canada) | Lead Institution and Consortium Secretariat; publisher of record; technical truth (key T) | science and practice communities · GCRI gateway |
| The Global Risks Forum (GRF) | leadership, dialogue and the Universe programme; public meaning (key M) | policy, Universe and national adoption · GRF gateway |
| The Global Risks Alliance (GRA) | finance, insurance and development readiness; capital meaning (key F) | finance and insurance · GRA gateway |
| Nexus Standards | preparatory drafts on vocabulary, hazards, indicators and methods | Standards site · working groups HAZ, IND, MTH, FIN, AI |
| Risk Academy | learning pathways tied to the agenda questions | Academy gateway · learning by review |
| Nexus Standards and Academy | technology chapter inputs: GCRI evidence, NXS standards, RA capability | technology editorial board |
Standards drafts used in this edition
- Risk vocabulary NRS-C1 (424 terms) for terms in the glossary
- Hazard atlas NHS-1 1.1.0 (905 hazards in 120 families) for risk objects
- Seven risk classes: global, catastrophic, existential, emerging, planetary, exponential, frontier-tech
Standards calendar to watch
- Founding calls from 20 October 2026; working groups meet from 5 November 2026
- Inaugural Global Standards Council session, 12 January 2027
- Quarterly reviews in March, June, September and December, aligned with each edition
6.4GCRI reading: the model card
GCRI’s reading of this edition is its model card: what the national model is, what it computes and where it stops. It is printed in full in Annex A, with the methods it belongs to. Annex A, methodology
6.5Global Risks Forum reading: editorial essays
Four signed essays by the Reports editorial team set out the positions this edition takes. They are interpretation, labelled as such; the evidence they draw on is in the findings register.
Neurotechnology is a clinical build-out and a new kind of personal data. The first is slow, surgical and material. The second is a policy question that exists now. Keeping them apart avoids both hype and complacency.
EDITORIAL ESSAY · 01
Two stories, one technology
A peer-reviewed paper, a registry entry and a company announcement carry different weight. This edition labels each, and asks for a common basis before outcomes are compared.
EDITORIAL ESSAY · 02
Separate results, registries and claims
Power, heat, materials and surgical teams are rarely counted. A published footprint would show whether scale is limited by physics, supply or skills.
EDITORIAL ESSAY · 03
The footprint is the blind spot
Laws on neural data are being passed while the technology is at feasibility stage. The question is whether they reach inferred data and consumer devices.
EDITORIAL ESSAY · 04
Rules arrive before evidence
6.6Global Risks Alliance reading: 2027 neurotechnology readiness pack
The registers that open the 2027 global cycle. At baseline each is initialised from this edition.
| Item | Register | State at baseline | First 2027 entry |
|---|---|---|---|
| E1 | Neurotechnology risk state delta | baseline set by this edition | changes against the baseline |
| E2 | WEFH+B state delta | five global system readings set | indicator updates and freshness |
| E3 | Agenda and Portfolio movement | eight agenda items · 6 proposed objects | admission decisions |
| E4 | Federation delivery register | national chapters in preparation | national chapters |
| E5 | Consortium capability register | national consortia forming | first contributions |
| E6 | Leadership questions and challenges | none yet | first challenge log |
| E7 | Foundry technical state | national environments prepared | first federation cut |
| E8 | Publication candidates | twelve findings carried forward | PUBLISH · HOLD dispositions |
| E9 | Universe readiness | one candidate mission | admission and role spine |
| E10 | Correction register | none | first federation-wide cycle |
Publication dispositions
- Publish
- Hold
- Needs evidence
- Restricted
- Superseded
6.7Nexus Standards reading: standards and regulatory watch
Instruments and published guidance that shape the systems in this edition, by status on the retrieval date. The edition assesses no one’s compliance.
- IN FORCE
- PUBLISHED
- BILL
- PUBLISHED · VOLUNTARY
| Instrument | Body | Scope | Status | Relevance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FDA guidance on implanted brain-computer interfaces9 | US FDA | US | PUBLISHED 2021 | non-clinical testing and study design |
| UNESCO Recommendation on the Ethics of Neurotechnology10 | UNESCO General Conference | global | ADOPTED NOVEMBER 2025 | ethics framework |
| MIND Act, S. 292511 | US Senate | US | BILL · IN COMMITTEE | federal neural data study |
| Colorado HB24-105814 | Colorado | Colorado | IN FORCE 2024 | neural data in privacy act |
| California SB 122325 | California | California | IN FORCE 2025 | neural data as sensitive data |
| Montana and Connecticut neural data laws41 | state legislatures | US states | PUBLISHED | neural data |
| Chile constitutional amendment, Law 21.38342 | Chile | Chile | IN FORCE 2021 | brain activity protection |
| OECD Recommendation on Responsible Innovation in Neurotechnology31 | OECD | OECD members | PUBLISHED 2019 | principles |
| EU Medical Device Regulation, Annex XVI39 | European Union | EU | IN FORCE | brain stimulation equipment |
| ISO 14708-340 | ISO | global | PUBLISHED · VOLUNTARY | implantable neurostimulators |
Changed since 2024
6.8Risk Academy reading: literature and evidence review, science and assessments
The review behind this edition covers neurotechnology assessments, peer-reviewed science and the institutional reports that bind its findings. Systematic reviews for each agenda item begin in 2027.
Review protocol
- Question
- What does the published evidence establish about neurotechnology as clinical hardware and personal data and its couplings?
- Sources searched
- peer-reviewed journals and preprints; guidance, laws and recommendations; policy translations; company and trade reports
- Window
- releases available at evidence close, 30 September 2026
- Selection
- sources that bind or contextualise a finding in this edition
- Next step
- systematic reviews for agenda items 01 to 05 in 2027
| Reference | Type | Year | Role | Used for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Willett et al.1 | journal article | 2023 | supports | speech decoding |
| Metzger et al.2 | journal article | 2023 | supports | speech and avatar |
| Card et al.3 | preprint record | 2023 | supports | accuracy over time |
| Wairagkar et al.4 | preprint record | 2024 | context | voice synthesis |
| Kunz et al.5 | journal article | 2025 | supports | inner speech |
| Willett et al.6 | journal article | 2021 | context | handwriting decoding |
| Lorach et al.7 | journal article | 2023 | supports | brain-spine interface |
| Chetty et al.8 | preprint | 2025 | supports | endovascular stability |
| Reference | Issuer | Year | Role | Used for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ma et al.22 | journal article | 2023 | supports | decoder drift |
| Wellman et al.23 | journal article | 2018 | context | electrode materials |
| Feng et al.24 | journal article | 2026 | context | biocompatibility review |
| Bublitz et al.21 | journal article | 2025 | context | moratorium proposal |
| Szoszkiewicz and Yuste19 | journal article | 2025 | context | mental privacy |
| Hochberg et al.36 | journal article | 2006 | framework | early implanted interface |
| Collinger et al.37 | journal article | 2013 | context | arm control |
| Moses et al.38 | journal article | 2021 | context | speech decoding |
| Yuste et al.34 | journal article | 2017 | framework | ethical priorities |
| Ienca and Andorno35 | journal article | 2017 | framework | new rights |
| Reference | Issuer | Year | Role | Used for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FDA guidance on implanted interfaces9 | FDA | 2021 | supports | testing and study design |
| UNESCO Recommendation page10 | UNESCO | 2025 | supports | global ethics |
| MIND Act text11 | US Senate | 2025 | supports | federal study bill |
| Colorado HB24-105814 | Colorado legislature | 2024 | supports | state law |
| Chinese implementation opinion16 | seven Chinese bodies, translated | 2025 | supports | industrial targets |
| Reference | Issuer | Year | Role | Used for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleared cortical-surface array15 | Precision Neuroscience | 2025 | context | vendor release |
| Neuralink funding report20 | trade outlet | 2025 | context | vendor statement |
| Neurotechnology reports29 | market-research firms | 2025 | context | market size, weak |
| Funding rounds30 | trade reports | 2025 | context | vendor statements |
| Consumer neurotechnology report33 | Neurorights Foundation | 2024 | context | privacy practices |
Where the evidence agrees
Notes
Numbers are the edition’s reference numbers, so a note reads the same in every chapter. The full list, with every source and its licence, is in Annex C. Annex C, references
- 20Zeff, M., Elon Musk Neuralink closes a USD 650 million Series E (trade report, 2 June 2025; page read; vendor statement as reported: five people implanted; valuation of about USD 9 billion pre-money from an earlier press report). TechCrunch, San Francisco. Observation year 2025. Accessed 2026-11-03.back
- 29UNVERIFIED, not opened: market-research reports on the neurotechnology and brain-computer interface markets for 2025 (several firms; figures differ by a large factor depending on definition), taken from search-result summaries; weak evidence and no figure used. Observation year 2025. Accessed 2026-11-03.back
- 9US Food and Drug Administration (ed.), Implanted Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) Devices for Patients with Paralysis or Amputation: Non-clinical Testing and Clinical Considerations, final guidance, May 2021 (guidance page read). Center for Devices and Radiological Health, Silver Spring. Observation year 2021. Accessed 2026-11-03.back
- 10UNESCO (ed.), Recommendation on the Ethics of Neurotechnology (page read: adopted November 2025 at the 43rd session of the General Conference; mandate entrusted by 194 Member States in 2023; the page states no neural data provisions). United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, Paris. Observation year 2025. Accessed 2026-11-03.back
- 11United States Senate (ed.), Management of Individuals Neural Data Act of 2025 (MIND Act), S. 2925, 119th Congress, introduced text (text read: FTC study and report within one year of enactment; USD 10 million authorised; referred to committee). US Government Publishing Office, Washington. Observation year 2025. Accessed 2026-11-03.back
- 14Colorado General Assembly (ed.), HB24-1058 Protect Privacy of Biological Data (bill page read: signed 17 April 2024; effective 7 August 2024). Colorado General Assembly, Denver. Observation year 2024. Accessed 2026-11-03.back
- 25UNVERIFIED, not opened: California Senate Bill 1223 (Becker), consumer privacy: sensitive personal information: neural data, signed 27 September 2024, in force 1 January 2025, taken from search-result summaries; the legislature page returned an access error. California Legislature, Sacramento. Observation year 2024. Accessed 2026-11-03.back
- 41UNVERIFIED, not opened: Montana and Connecticut state laws on neural data, named in the Senate release [12] and in search-result summaries; texts not opened. State legislatures, Helena and Hartford. Observation year 2025. Accessed 2026-11-03.back
- 42UNVERIFIED, not opened: Republic of Chile, Law 21.383 amending Article 19 of the Constitution on scientific and technological development and brain activity, 2021, reported in references 17 and 18; text not opened. Biblioteca del Congreso Nacional, Santiago. Observation year 2021. Accessed 2026-11-03.back
- 31UNVERIFIED, not opened: OECD (ed.), Recommendation of the Council on Responsible Innovation in Neurotechnology, 2019, cited from memory. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Paris. Observation year 2019. Accessed 2026-11-03.back
- 39UNVERIFIED, not opened: European Union, Regulation (EU) 2017/745 on medical devices, Annex XVI on products without an intended medical purpose (includes equipment for brain stimulation), cited from memory. Official Journal of the European Union, Luxembourg. Observation year 2017. Accessed 2026-11-03.back
- 40UNVERIFIED, not opened: ISO (ed.), ISO 14708-3, Implants for surgery: active implantable medical devices, part 3, implantable neurostimulators, cited from memory without figures. International Organization for Standardization, Geneva. Observation year 2017. Accessed 2026-11-03.back
- 12US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation (ed.), release on the introduction of the MIND Act, 24 September 2025 (release read: names Colorado, California, Montana and Connecticut as states with neural data laws). US Senate, Washington. Observation year 2025. Accessed 2026-11-03.back
- 16Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and six other bodies (eds.), Implementation Opinions on Promoting the Innovation and Development of the Brain-Computer Interface Industry, MIIT (2025) No. 164, 23 July 2025, English translation by the Center for Security and Emerging Technology, 18 December 2025 (translation page read). Georgetown University, Washington. Observation year 2025. Accessed 2026-11-03.back
- 18Lee, B.H., Even Chile neurorights leave inferred mental data in a gray zone, Stanford Law School Law and Biosciences Blog, 27 April 2026 (blog page read; commentary, not a legal text). Stanford University, Stanford. Observation year 2026. Accessed 2026-11-03.back
- 43UNVERIFIED, not opened: European Union, Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (Artificial Intelligence Act), Article 5 on prohibited practices including emotion recognition in workplaces and education, cited from memory. Official Journal of the European Union, Luxembourg. Observation year 2024. Accessed 2026-11-03.back
- 1Willett, F.R. et al., A high-performance speech neuroprosthesis, Nature 620(7976), 1031 to 1036, published online 23 August 2023 (reference record read: 62 words per minute; 23.8% word error rate on 125,000 words; 9.1% on 50 words). Springer Nature, London. Observation year 2023. Accessed 2026-11-03.back
- 2Metzger, S.L. et al., A high-performance neuroprosthesis for speech decoding and avatar control, Nature 620(7976), 1037 to 1046, published online 23 August 2023 (reference record read: median 78 words per minute; median word error rate 25%). Springer Nature, London. Observation year 2023. Accessed 2026-11-03.back
- 3Card, N.S. et al., An accurate and rapidly calibrating speech neuroprosthesis, medRxiv preprint, 26 December 2023 (preprint record read: 99.6% on 50 words on day 1; 90.2% on 125,000 words on day 2; 97.5% beyond eight months; 256 electrodes; the record notes the New England Journal of Medicine version 391(7), 609 to 618, August 2024). Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, New York. Observation year 2023. Accessed 2026-11-03.back
- 4Wairagkar, M. et al., An instantaneous voice synthesis neuroprosthesis, bioRxiv preprint, 19 August 2024 (preprint record read: 256 microelectrodes, one participant with ALS; no quantitative scores in the abstract; the record notes Nature 644(8075), 145 to 152, 2025). Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, New York. Observation year 2024. Accessed 2026-11-03.back
- 5Kunz, E.M. et al., Inner speech in motor cortex and implications for speech neuroprostheses, Cell 188(17), 4658 to 4673, published online 14 August 2025 (reference record read: four participants). Cell Press, Cambridge MA. Observation year 2025. Accessed 2026-11-03.back
- 6Willett, F.R., Avansino, D.T., Hochberg, L.R., Henderson, J.M. and Shenoy, K.V., High-performance brain-to-text communication via handwriting, Nature 593(7858), 249 to 254, published online 12 May 2021 (reference record read: 90 characters per minute; 94.1% raw online accuracy). Springer Nature, London. Observation year 2021. Accessed 2026-11-03.back
- 7Lorach, H. et al., Walking naturally after spinal cord injury using a brain-spine interface, Nature 618(7963), 126 to 133, published online 24 May 2023 (reference record read: fully implanted; stable for over one year; one man with chronic tetraplegia). Springer Nature, London. Observation year 2023. Accessed 2026-11-03.back
- 8Chetty, N. et al., Signal properties and stability of a chronically implanted endovascular brain computer interface, medRxiv preprint, 25 September 2025 (preprint record read: five participants; 16-channel array; one year; not peer reviewed). Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, New York. Observation year 2025. Accessed 2026-11-03.back
- 22Ma, X. et al., Using adversarial networks to extend brain computer interface decoding accuracy over time, eLife 12, e84296, 2023 (reference record read). eLife Sciences, Cambridge. Observation year 2023. Accessed 2026-11-03.back
- 23Wellman, S.M. et al., A materials roadmap to functional neural interface design, Advanced Functional Materials 28(12), 2018 (reference record read; no figures in the abstract). Wiley, Weinheim. Observation year 2018. Accessed 2026-11-03.back
- 24Feng, Y. et al., Brain-computer interfaces: the dawn of a new era in disease treatment, Exploration 6(3), 2026 (reference record read: electrode biocompatibility and signal resolution named as challenges). Wiley, Beijing. Observation year 2026. Accessed 2026-11-03.back
- 21Bublitz, C. et al., A moratorium on implantable non-medical neurotech until effects on the mind are properly understood, Neuroethics 18(3), article 46, 2025 (reference record read: proposes a mental impact assessment, a moratorium and a ban for children). Springer, Dordrecht. Observation year 2025. Accessed 2026-11-03.back
- 19Szoszkiewicz, L. and Yuste, R., Mental privacy: navigating risks, rights and regulation, EMBO Reports 26(14), 3469 to 3473, published online 25 June 2025 (reference record read; no abstract beyond the subtitle). Springer Nature, London. Observation year 2025. Accessed 2026-11-03.back
- 36UNVERIFIED, not opened: Hochberg, L.R. et al., Neuronal ensemble control of prosthetic devices by a human with tetraplegia, Nature 442, 164 to 171, 2006, cited from memory. Springer Nature, London. Observation year 2006. Accessed 2026-11-03.back
- 37UNVERIFIED, not opened: Collinger, J.L. et al., High-performance neuroprosthetic control by an individual with tetraplegia, The Lancet 381, 557 to 564, 2013, cited from memory. Elsevier, London. Observation year 2013. Accessed 2026-11-03.back
- 38UNVERIFIED, not opened: Moses, D.A. et al., Neuroprosthesis for decoding speech in a paralyzed person with anarthria, New England Journal of Medicine 385, 217 to 227, 2021, cited from memory. Massachusetts Medical Society, Waltham. Observation year 2021. Accessed 2026-11-03.back
- 34UNVERIFIED, not opened: Yuste, R. et al., Four ethical priorities for neurotechnologies and AI, Nature 551, 159 to 163, 2017, cited from memory. Springer Nature, London. Observation year 2017. Accessed 2026-11-03.back
- 35UNVERIFIED, not opened: Ienca, M. and Andorno, R., Towards new human rights in the age of neuroscience and neurotechnology, Life Sciences, Society and Policy 13, 5, 2017, cited from memory. Springer, Berlin. Observation year 2017. Accessed 2026-11-03.back
- 15Precision Neuroscience (ed.), company release on FDA 510(k) clearance of the Layer 7 Cortical Interface, 17 April 2025 (release read; vendor announcement, weak evidence: up to 30 days of implantation; 37 patients tested). Precision Neuroscience, New York. Observation year 2025. Accessed 2026-11-03.back
- 30UNVERIFIED, not opened: trade reports of other company funding rounds in 2025 including a Series D for an endovascular interface company and a seed round for a new interface company, taken from search-result summaries; weak evidence and no figure used. Observation year 2025. Accessed 2026-11-03.back
- 33UNVERIFIED, not opened: Neurorights Foundation (ed.), report on privacy practices of consumer neurotechnology companies, 2024, cited from memory without figures; the foundation page returned not found. Neurorights Foundation, New York. Observation year 2024. Accessed 2026-11-03.back
- 26UNVERIFIED, not opened: report of January 2026 that Neuralink was enrolling 21 participants worldwide, taken from a search-result summary of a secondhand news item citing people familiar with the matter; weak evidence. Observation year 2026. Accessed 2026-11-03.back