Lack of Autonomy in BCI's and Brain Modulation Due to Online Consumption: Are they really different?

Lack of Autonomy in BCI's and Brain Modulation Due to Online Consumption: Are they really different? 

This semester I had the opportunity to listen to Joe Vukov, a philosophy professor at Loyola University, speak about the ethical implications of BCI’s. During his speech we analyzed a paper titled, “Brain-Responsive Neurostimulation for Loss of Control Eating: Early Feasibility Study” by Wu et al (2020). The paper discussed the ability of closed loop interfaces to administer stimulation to the nucleus accumbens of individuals experiencing binge eating disorders; objectively with the goal of reducing food seeking behavior (Wu et al., 2020). While this BCI seemed like a way to help people with uncontrollable eating, Vukov mentioned the ethical implications of this becoming more mainstream (Wu et al., 2020). Vukovs' concerns with closed loop interfaces was not that it involved implantation of the brain, but rather that there was a lack of autonomy for participants', meaning the inability to control how the BCI affected their brain. He additionally spoke about how devices like this could also be an invasion of privacy as the BCI could potentiate the ability to monitor and understand thought. A very interesting question during Vukovs' speech was brought up, however,  regarding how phones and social media can emulate these ethical issues on a smaller scale. I wondered however whether this was actually the case. 

Considering Vukovs' concern with lack of autonomy in brain altering technology. I wondered whether phone usage was really that different. An article from the Washington Post titled, “Is ‘brain rot’ real? How too much time online can affect your mind.” by Maggie Penman, highlights how phone usage and online consumption is negatively affecting our attention and memory. In the article, Penman mentions a study from 2025 in the journal of Translational Psychiatry which documented that increased screen time was correlated with decreased thickness of cortical brain regions [N=7,000](Penman, 2026). Furthermore, the article mentions that phone usage also hinders adolescence sleep duration, as they are often being used in bed (Penman, 2026). This lack of sleep due to excessive phone usage is reducing the white matter growth of adolescence during a critical phase of their life, as mentioned by Mitch Prinstein a science advisor of the APA (Penman, 2026). Overall the article highlights that the effects of elevated screen time has a negative effect on cognitive functioning involving comprehension and vocabulary (Penman, 2026). Considering these effects of online consumption it seems plausible to think that such modulation to our brain is largely out of our conscious awareness, possibly even more so than it would be in the use of BCI’s (Penman, 2026). 

Overall, it seems as though online consumption can pose just as dangerous risks to our autonomy and additionally to our cognitive wellbeing as BCIs (Penman, 2026). Its seemingly addictive qualities allows for us to be taken advantage of, overtime making drastic changes to the way our brain functions (Penman, 2026). So, considering we let phones and online consumption alter our brain function simply just for pleasure, it seems as though the use of BCI wouldn't be much different, however they could provide solutions to very life threatening or life altering conditions (Penman, 2026; Wu et al., 2020). Therefore, it seems as though BCI may be more ethically favorable than the usage of our phones, as they can provide real solutions to health issues, suggesting benefits may out way the consequences (Wu et al., 2020). 

References 

Penman, M. (2026, February 20th). Is ‘brain rot’ real? How too much time online can affect your mind. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2026/02/20/brain-rot-social-media/ 

Wu, H., Adler, S., Azagury, D. E., Bohon, C., Safer, D. L., Barbosa, D. A. N., Bhati, M. T., Williams, N. R., Dunn, L. B., Tass, P. A., Knutson, B. D., Yutsis, M., Fraser, A., Cunningham, T., Richardson, K., Skarpaas, T. L., Tcheng, T. K., Morrell, M. J., Roberts, L. W., Malenka, R. C., … Halpern, C. H. (2020). Brain-Responsive Neurostimulation for Loss of Control Eating: Early Feasibility Study. Neurosurgery, 87(6), 1277–1288. https://doi.org/10.1093/neuros/nyaa300