Neurotechnologies and their Hardwired Politics

Technology has a significant impact on world-becoming. While its importance has already been addressed in detail, there is a lack regarding neurotechnological applications because little attention has been paid to the actual implanted technology. Using insights from cochlear implants, I will demonstrate that neuroimplants constitute the foundation that a world can come into being as such because the techno-neuronal entanglement changes accessibility within the world. Since a world’s becoming is fundamentally dependent on the neuroimplant’s architecture, I will further argue that its embodied politics are of particular relevance. In contrast to non-implanted technology, these politics are hardwired, sitting inaccessibly under the user’s skin. They ensure that manufacturers maintain control over the techno-neuronal performance even after implantation, determining not how but that a user’s world comes into being. The paper’s significance lies in revealing hardwired politics that impact the user’s being-in-the-world, raising ethical concerns regarding neurotechnological applications.