Nita A. Farahany
Director of Duke Science & Society, Professor of Law & Philosophy, Biotech Leader and TED Speaker
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Nita A. Farahany
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Nita A. Farahany
Featured Keynote Programs
ChatGPT and Your Brain
Changing How We Think About Thinking
“Using ChatGPT isn’t cheating,” says Nita Farahany. “It isn’t unlike the seismic shifts in thinking that we’ve had when the calculator was introduced.” As a leading expert on neurotechnology and author of The Battle for Your Brain, Nita says that we just need to adjust how we think about thinking, and start learning how to ask the right questions. She shows how we can teach the next generation the fundamentals of writing, research, and the foundational elements of art so that we can start to use this technology effectively. Through this, we can create critical thinkers who are aware of what they create, and develop a future where humans and technology collaborate and augment one another.
Technology That Reads Minds
Motivation, Not Regulation in the Workplace
As a summer law associate, Nita Farahany was advised to “never put anything in writing that you wouldn’t want to see on the cover of The New York Times.” But what if that advice extended to not even thinking about anything that you wouldn’t want splashed all over page one? In this cutting-edge, compelling talk, Farahany shows audiences why we must ask these questions, as consumer EEGs and neurofeedback devices are becoming increasingly available and utilized in the workplace. What does this mean for society? Not just tracking what employees’ hands are doing, but what their mental and emotional experiences throughout the day are like?
Farahany argues that this type of usage will significantly decrease morale, creativity, and the ability to experiment—all the things that are essential to innovation and happiness. We can integrate devices into the workplace, but with limits in place. What rights does an individual have? We must decide what we as a society want our livelihoods and our lives to look like. We must recognize that employee productivity is also about respecting the individual, celebrating the autonomy of our employees and ourselves, not just for the individual, but for our societies. If we want workplace productivity, we need to figure out ways to motivate, not just regulate, says Farahany.