Table Of Content“Foremostexpertintheinternationalfieldoflegalsynaesthesia,RostamNeuwirthreminds
usinthisengaginglycomplexcritiqueofproposedEUregulationinAIsystems,thatinthis
age of paradox and oxymora, the mind, with its elaborately interactive sensory inter-
sectionalityinvolvingcognition,knowledge,andreality,isasiteprecariouslypositionedfor
manipulation through systems of artificial intelligence that seek to control awareness and
perception through subliminal techniques emboldened by irresponsible regulation. Law
must protect our foundational freedom as humans to think, to feel, and engage with
thoughts,feelings,andtherealitythatcomesfromthischaoticoverlap.”
SarahMarusek,UniversityofHawai‘iHilo(USA)andauthorof
“SynestheticLegalities:SensoryDimensionsofLawandJurisprudence”
“RostamJ.Neuwirth’sbookonthesubliminaleffectsofAIisbothoriginalandtimely.Itis
originalbecauseNeuwirthcombinesdiscoursesfromthefieldsofvulnerabilitytheory,AIand
neuroscienceinauniquemanner.ThebookistimelybecausetheearlieroneunderstandsAI’s
subliminal effects, the higher is the chance that we can avoid that the concept of ‘private
thought’becomesanoxymoron.Neuwirth’slatestbookisthusessentialreadingforanyone
committedtotheprotectionofhumandignityandhumanautonomyinthedigitalrealm.”
ValentinJeutner,LundUniversity(Sweden)andauthorof
“IrresolvableNormConflictsinInternationalLaw:TheConceptofaLegalDilemma”
“TheglobalchallengesoftheXXIcenturyspurhumanstodealwithComplexSystems.In
my book, entitled ‘Untangling Complex Systems: AGrand Challenge for Science’, I show
that Artificial Intelligence (AI) turns out to be avaluable tool to tackle Complexity. The
developmentofAIbringshumanitytothebrinkofafourthtechnologicalrevolutionthatwill
fundamentallyalterthewayhumanslive,work,andconceivethemselves.Thereareintelligent
machines that ‘assist’, others that ‘augment’ humans, and finally others that are ‘autono-
mous’.Theseintelligentmachines,whichinteractwithhumans,helpfacecomplexscenarios
butraiseethicalquestions.ThebrilliantandfarsightedNeuwirth’sbookpresentsthegeneral
contextofthefutureregulationofAI.Itspecificallyaddressestheregulatorychallengesrela-
tedtotheplannedprohibitionof‘theuseofanAIsystemthatdeployssubliminaltechniques
beyond a person’s consciousness’. Through a transdisciplinary examination of AI’s legal,
technological,linguisticandcognitiveaspects,Neuwirthlegitimatelyconcludesthatcontrolof
themindshouldremainthepersonaldomainofeveryhumanandtheterm‘privatethought’
shouldnotbecomeanoxymoron.Neuwirth’sbookisa‘must-read’foranyonewhowantsto
knowmoreabouttheregulationofsubliminalAIsystems.”
PierLuigiGentili,DepartmentofChemistry,BiologyandBiotechnology,
UniversityofPerugia(Italy)
“Ahighlyimportantandtimelydiscussionoftheconceptofsubliminalmanipulationat
atimewhentheEUpreparestobeoneofthefirstmajorregulatorsofartificialintelli-
gence.ItiscrucialthatmoreexpertslikeProfessorNeuwirthcontributetothetopicof
reducingtherisksofAImanipulation.”
RistoUuk,PolicyResearcher,FutureofLifeInstitute(FLI)
fi
The EU Arti cial Intelligence Act
AIincombinationwithotherinnovativetechnologiespromisestobringunprecedented
opportunities to all aspects of life. These technologies, however, hold great dangers,
especially for the manipulation of the human mind, which have given rise to serious
ethicalconcerns.Apartfromsomesectoralregulatoryeffortstoaddresstheseconcerns,no
regulatory framework for AI has yet been adopted, though in 2021 the European
Commission of the EU published a draft Act on Artificial Intelligence and UNESCO
followedsuitwithaRecommendationontheEthicsofArtificialIntelligence.
The book contextualises the future regulation of AI, specifically addressing the reg-
ulatorychallengesrelatingtotheplannedprohibitionoftheuseofAIsystemsthatdeploy
subliminal techniques. The convergence of AI with various related technologies, such as
brain–computerinterfaces,functionalmagneticresonanceimaging,robotics,andbigdata,
alreadyallowsfor“mindreading”or“dreamhacking”throughbrainspyware,aswellas
other practices that intrude on cognition and the right to freedom of thought. Future
innovations will enhance the possibilities for manipulating thoughts and behaviour, and
theythreatentocauseseriousharmtoindividualsaswellastosocietyasawhole.
Theissueofsubliminalperceptionandtheabilitytodeceiveandmanipulatethemind
belowthethresholdofawarenesscausesseveredifficultiesforlawanddemocracyandraises
importantquestionsforthefutureofsociety.Thisbookshowshowcognitive,technological,
andlegalquestionsareintrinsicallyinterwoven,andaimstostimulateanurgentlyneeded
transdisciplinaryandtransnationaldebatebetweenstudents,academics,practitioners,pol-
icymakers, and citizens interested not only in the law but also in disciplines including
computerscience,neuroscience,sociology,politicalscience,marketing,andpsychology.
Rostam J. Neuwirth is Professor of Law and Head of the Department of Global Legal
StudiesattheFacultyofLawoftheUniversityofMacau.Previously,hetaughtattheWest
BengalUniversityofJuridicalSciences(NUJS)inKolkataandtheHidayatullahNational
LawUniversity(HNLU)inRaipur(India),andworkedasalegaladviserintheDepart-
mentofEuropeanLawoftheInternationalLawBureauoftheAustrianFederalMinistry
for Foreign Affairs. He received his PhD degree from the European University Institute
(EUI) in Florence (Italy), and also holds a Master’s degree in Law (LL.M.) from the
FacultyofLawofMcGillUniversityinMontreal(Canada).Asanundergraduatehestu-
diedattheUniversityofGraz(Austria)andtheUniversitéd’Auvergne(France).Heisthe
author of Law in the Time of Oxymora: A Synaesthesia of Language, Logic and Law
(Routledge2018)andnumerousotherpublicationsthatfocusoncontemporarygloballegal
problemsbyexploringtheintrinsiclinkagesbetweenlaw,ontheonehand,andlanguage,
cognition,art,culture,society,andtechnology,ontheother.
Routledge Research in the Law of Emerging Technologies
Biometrics, Surveillance and the Law
Societies of Restricted Access, Discipline and Control
Sara M. Smyth
Artificial Intelligence, Healthcare, and the Law
Regulating Automation in Personal Care
Eduard Fosch-Villaronga
Health Data Privacy under the GDPR
Big Data Challenges and Regulatory Responses
Edited by Maria Tzanou
Regulating Artificial Intelligence
Binary Ethics and the Law
Dominika Ewa Harasimiuk and Tomasz Braun
Cryptocurrencies and Regulatory Challenge
Allan C. Hutchinson
Regulating Artificial Intelligence in Industry
Edited by Damian M. Bielicki
The Law of Global Digitality
Edited by Matthias C. Kettemann, Alexander Peukert and
Indra Spiecker gen. Döhmann
Internet of Things and the Law
Legal Strategies for Consumer-Centric Smart Technologies
Guido Noto La Diega
The EU Artificial Intelligence Act
Regulating Subliminal AI Systems
Rostam J. Neuwirth
fi
The EU Arti cial Intelligence
Act
Regulating Subliminal AI Systems
Rostam J. Neuwirth
Firstpublished2023
byRoutledge
4ParkSquare,MiltonPark,Abingdon,OxonOX144RN
andbyRoutledge
605ThirdAvenue,NewYork,NY10158
RoutledgeisanimprintoftheTaylor&FrancisGroup,aninforma
business
©2023RostamJ.Neuwirth
TherightofRostamJ.Neuwirthtobeidentifiedasauthorofthis
workhasbeenassertedinaccordancewithsections77and78of
theCopyright,DesignsandPatentsAct1988.
Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthisbookmaybereprintedor
reproducedorutilisedinanyformorbyanyelectronic,
mechanical,orothermeans,nowknownorhereafterinvented,
includingphotocopyingandrecording,orinanyinformation
storageorretrievalsystem,withoutpermissioninwritingfromthe
publishers.
Trademarknotice:Productorcorporatenamesmaybetrademarks
orregisteredtrademarks,andareusedonlyforidentificationand
explanationwithoutintenttoinfringe.
BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationData
AcataloguerecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritish
Library
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Acatalogrecordhasbeenrequestedforthisbook
ISBN:978-1-032-33375-5(hbk)
ISBN:978-1-032-33383-0(pbk)
ISBN:978-1-003-31943-6(ebk)
DOI:10.4324/9781003319436
TypesetinTimesNewRoman
byTaylor&FrancisBooks
For Pui Mang
Contents
Preface x
Introduction 1
1 TheEuropeanUnion’sproposedArtificialIntelligenceAct(AIA) 9
A Background and context 10
B The prohibition of AI systems deploying subliminal
techniques 14
C The scope and nature of AI systems with subliminal
aspects 25
2 Subliminal perception and the law 42
A Motivational research and “hidden persuaders” 42
B Laws prohibiting subliminal advertising 46
C Subliminal perception and the senses: between
individuality and unity 54
3 The future regulation of subliminal AI systems 84
A The prohibition of subliminal techniques in AI systems,
revisited 84
B Wider ramifications for law: towards a right to cognitive
freedom 95
C Legal synaesthesia: greater unity of the senses leads to
greater unity of law? 102
118
Conclusion
Index 122
