The Neurotechnology Shift: How next-generation wearables interface with the brain itself

Imagine you're shopping for a dinner party this weekend and you spot some nice, but expensive, bottles of wine.

- JOSÉ M. MUÑOZ

You're not sure if you can afford them, but before you can even open your banking app to check, a lightweight head-worn wearable has already registered the neural activity involved in your mental calculation. It transmits the data to your phone, which confirms that they're within your budget.

In this scenario, you'd be using neurotechnology.

We're increasingly accustomed to relying on consumer wearables like smartwatches and fitness apps that measure and assess our physical parameters, but for most of us, that’s where things stop. The idea of interfacing with the brain itself is generally seen as something confined to science fiction, cutting-edge research, hospitals, and medical treatments.

However, this new tech is already becoming quietly embedded into the most mundane of areas — workplaces, education, entertainment, and so on. It’s no surprise we don't notice it, as daily life obscures any trace of novelty. But neurotechnology is fast creating a new layer of social infrastructure.

In my research, I refer to this phase of adoption as the Neurotechnology Shift. I define it as a distinct technoscientific, cognitive, and sociocultural transformation in which neurotechnology migrates from labs and hospitals into nonclinical settings, making the brain itself an everyday interface.

Beyond wearables

Technological shifts from one domain to another are not new. The internet was originally conceived as a military project, but it has since permeated almost every aspect of our daily lives. Now, much of our attention (and time) is spent interacting not only with screens, but also with virtual assistants, sensors, and smart devices. We haven't just adapted to it; we’ve changed how we relate to each other and how we understand privacy.