Claudia González-Márquez (BA Law (Hons), LLM)
Thesis title: ‘Neurohacking and the Law: Examining the Adequacy of Legal Frameworks Against Interference with Implantable Neurotechnologies’
Background
Claudia González-Márquez is a PhD Candidate at the University of Edinburgh, School of Law. In 2020, they graduated First-Class from the BA Law (Hons) at Tec de Monterrey University. In 2022, they completed the LLM in Medical Law & Ethics at the University of Edinburgh.
The doctoral research project is situated at the intersection of four distinct fields: neuroscience and law; ethics; artificial intelligence; and neurotechnology and philosophy. This research aims to provide an assessment of the adequacy of current legal frameworks in UK jurisdiction vis-à-vis the novel phenomenon of non-consensual neurocognitive interference and neural data breaches through invasive neurotechnologies. In this vein, the gaps this interdisciplinary research seeks to address are twofold. The first is the limitations of existing UK laws in protecting brain data extracted directly from implantable neural devices. The second, constitutes the prevailing regulatory dearth of individual’s mental domain from neurocognitive interference.
Through such assessment, the project aims to contribute to and advance the regulatory scope of the theoretical proposal of ‘neurohacking’ and ‘neurorights’ by developing a comprehensive statutory remedy that directly addresses non-consensual neurocognitive interference as a novel form of trespass to the person. By developing such a distinct statutory remedy that recognises neurohacking as tortious conduct and a special type of crime, to be prosecuted in a special way, the research aims to provide a foundation for the formulation of liability across different domains of the law in cases where third parties maliciously and unauthorisedly compromise the privacy and autonomy of individuals. Such an original and substantial contribution will be paramount in advancing the fields of neurolaw and neuroethics as it will provide a more robust and effective approach to safeguarding individual’s neurocognitive rights and interests, and pave the way for further legal developments.
Qualifications
PhD Law, The University of Edinburgh, 2022-Present
LLM Medical Law & Ethics, The University of Edinburgh, 2021-22
BA Law (Hons), Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education, 2015-2020
Responsibilities & affiliations
Outreach Coordinator at the International Neuroethics Society
PhD Affiliate of the Edinburgh Centre for Data, Culture & Society
Teaching Assistant and PhD Affiliate at Edinburgh Futures Institute, Centre for Technomoral Studies (MSc Data & AI Ethics)
Editor at SCRIPTed Journal of Law, Technology & Society
Postgraduate teaching
Teaching Assistant at the Edinburgh Futures Institute, Centre for Technomoral Studies (MSc Data & AI Ethics)
Research summary
Main research interests lie at the interface between law, ethics and neuroscience, with a particular focus on the legal regulation and normative/ethical implications from the use and development of invasive neurotechnologies
Current research interests
Neuroethics, neurophilosophy, neurolaw, emerging neurotechnologies, AI ethics, applied neuroscienceAffiliated research centres
'Protecting Neural Data: The Next Neurolaw Challenge', The Mason Institute for Medicine, Life Sciences & the Law, 2022 (https://blogs.ed.ac.uk/mason-institute/2022/06/23/protecting-neural-data-the-next-neurolaw-challenge-by-claudia-gonzalez-marquez/)
Book review of 'Embodied Narratives: Protecting Identity Interests Through Ethical Governance of Bioinformation’, SCRIPTed Journal of Law, Technology & Society, 2023 (http://journals.ed.ac.uk/script-ed/article/view/8981/11927)