Cognitive sovereignty and neuro-justice: neurotechnological advancements and mental autonomy in the Global South
Frontiers in Public Health June 2, 2026 Chiara Saracini
The current neurorights debate, shaped by Global North technocratic logic, focuses on cognitive enhancement and overlooks the Global South's need for basic neurorehabilitation and healthcare. AI-powered neurotechnologies, which modulate cognition indirectly through adaptive algorithms, challenge existing frameworks and risk cognitive extractivism and data colonialism. A proposed neuro-justice framework prioritizes distributive equity and cognitive sovereignty, shifting from enhancement for the few to restoration for the many, and calls for locally anchored infrastructures to avoid widening neuro-inequality.