How does brain-computer interface technology present challenges for labour law in New Zealand?

Abstract

There is a disheartening narrative regarding the future of work found in some publications. It is that automation will replace workers in industrial and service sector unions relatively soon and artificial intelligence will replace knowledge workers in public sector unions such as teachers, nurses and public servants. Recent announcements of technological breakthroughs have challenged this disheartening narrative. Neuralink recently debuted polymer threads that could be inserted into brains allowing them to control certain computer functions. Rather than human workers being replaced by machines, brain-computer interfaces could allow them to have a symbiotic workplace relationship. Human workers could have access to the physical power of robots and the intellectual power of artificial general intelligence. However, while this brain-computer interface technology provides hope for those concerned about impending job loss it still poses significant legal challenges. This paper will focus on the three most pressing –the potential for discrimination against workers unable or unwilling to accept neural-prosthetics, the privacy of workers, and the prospect of compulsion by machines.