Investigation: Wearable Sleep Trackers Using Brainwaves to Train AI Models Without Explicit Consent
A joint investigation by Science and the Pulitzer Center found that neurotech companies accumulated tens of millions of hours of EEG data for AI training without prior explicit disclosure in privacy policies.
According to a report by Tom's Hardware, a recent investigation by Science magazine and the Pulitzer Center's AI Accountability Network found that several consumer neurotechnology companies are using users' electroencephalography (EEG) data—electrical signals generated by brain activity—to train artificial intelligence models, without having previously disclosed this use clearly in their privacy policies. These companies have accumulated tens of millions of hours of EEG recordings.
Canadian firm Interaxon, maker of the Muse sleep and meditation headband, is one of the named entities. Its devices monitor electrical activity in the brain alongside other physiological measurements while users sleep. Nadia Kumentas, Interaxon's Chief Marketing Officer, stated that the company has already trained an AI model using about 50,000 hours of EEG recordings and claims it removes identifying information such as names, emails, and addresses before using the data. However, prior to speaking with Science, Interaxon's privacy policy did not explicitly disclose that users' brain recordings could be used to train foundation models. Kumentas acknowledged, "We agree users should be explicitly informed." For customers whose recordings had already been used, this classification came late, likely exposing the company to potential lawsuits.
Emotiv, another wearable EEG maker, is also training its Large Brain model partly on recordings from customers using its high-end devices. Following questions from Science, Emotiv updated its privacy policy to disclose the use of de-identified neural data for model training subject to opt-in consent.