Have we given away our right to Freedom of Thought already?

Trust thought for today - today it is a year since I started doing this daily post. This week I have been highlighting the ones which meant most to me for one reason or another.

I am going to mark the year with a look at the future and celebrate the vital role of innovative thinkers helping us understand the problems we are running into with our use of new technologies.

Human Rights lawyer Susie Alegre, left me shaken and fascinated by this article showing that we have perhaps already given away one of our most fundamental Human Rights - our right to freedom of thought.

https://lnkd.in/gStDTVax (her book on this is coming very soon).

I was reassured by speakers at an OECD neurotech conference that fears about our minds being read against our will won't happen anytime soon. But they are wrong. That line has already been crossed and we missed it because it doesn't come in the form we expect such as foreign spies zapping us with radio waves as we walk past.

As Susie shows, freedom of expression is often discussed, but freedom of thought not. Freedom of thought is a fundamental right under agreed human rights law - you have an absolute right to think what you like in your own head, to an 'inner life' that is not shared with the world. Some call it “the foundation of democratic society” or “the basis and origin of all other rights”. The right has three elements:

* the right not to reveal one’s thoughts or opinions;
* the right not to have one’s thoughts or opinions manipulated; and
* the right not to be penalised for one’s thoughts

Which brings us to social media. Is this right breached when the thoughts we express in our searches or posts are claimed to identify personality traits and our habits and how we express ourselves used to categorise us and change the way others interact with us? If this information about us is used to predict our future thoughts and responses and our actions manipulated to suit agendas not necessarily our own - is this still about freedom of expression or is it now a breach of our right to freedom of thought?

"The right to freedom of thought has taken a back seat in the discourse around human rights and the internet so far. It is as if we cannot bear to accept that our thoughts may not be our own, that someone could reach inside our minds and manipulate the way we see the world. It is an unbearable idea. Privacy and data protection law will only protect our rights so far and they are at risk of dilution. People can be blasé about their privacy in a way that they may not be about their free will. "

So glad Susie and many thoughtful others are stimulating us to think about these complex issues - though take steps to preserve those rights is quite another thing again.

Thank you so much to all of you for reading and for commenting and contributing your own thoughts and ideas. Especially those who respond daily. Your interest and support is massively appreciated