Identity & Authenticity

This cluster asks whether neurotechnology changes who a person is and whether their post-intervention states and actions are authentically their own. 'Identity' concerns the continuity and unity of the self across an intervention; 'authenticity' concerns whether a person's values, choices, and behavior express their true self rather than an artifact of the device or its algorithm.

The issue is sharpest for neuromodulation that alters mood, motivation, or personality, but it also applies to decoders that shape communication. Patients variously report feeling 'more myself' or estranged after treatment, so authenticity cannot be read off the direction of change; the person's own endorsement, and the fit with their prior values, are central to any judgment.