Don't Build Mindreading

A LessWrong essay argues against building brain-reading, or "mindreading," technology, warning it could become a tool for authoritarian control. The author, writing under the name Celer, points out that such tech would disproportionately benefit those who rule without consent, letting dictators detect dissent the moment it forms rather than after it spreads. As evidence, the piece cites historical cases like Oskar Schindler, whose life-saving deception of Nazi officials would have been impossible under thought-detection, and notes that some in AI safety circles see mindreading as a way to keep pace with increasingly capable AI systems. The author isn't convinced those benefits outweigh the risk of empowering authoritarian regimes, and is calling on researchers and companies not to build the datasets or hardware that would make it possible.

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