The era of psychopolitics: towards a new form of power based on mind control

A medical, humanitarian, transhumanist and politically neutral project. This is how Neuralink has described itself since it was first founded in 2016. Over the last decade, however, the company created by Elon Musk to develop implants for human-brain-computer communication has revealed itself to be much more than that. A study by the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) and the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), and published in Culture, Theory and Critique explores how this neural technology paves the way for a new form of power: psychopolitics.

"Just as a traffic light fulfils the police function of maintaining order on the streets by managing vehicle and pedestrian traffic, Neuralink aims to fulfil a psychopolitical function by translating our cognitive processes, thoughts, emotions and attitudes into data and regulating them," said Sergi Parellada, lead author of the study. Parellada is a researcher at the eHealth Centre of the UOC and the Barcelona Science and Technology Studies group (STS-b) of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB). "Furthermore, it seeks to use science to justify an intervention to optimize people's minds to fit them to the necessary standards to meet the demands of capitalist and neoliberal productivity," he said.

What is psychopolitics?

Neuralink is still under development, an experimental technology whose widespread use seems a long way off for now. However, the authors of the study argue that the principles of psychopolitics already underlie many of the apps and platforms we all use on a daily basis, such as Instagram, TikTok, Netflix or Spotify. These apps and platforms use algorithms to collect data on users' tastes, desires, motivations and behaviours, among other information, and some can even listen to our everyday conversations and turn them into information to build digital profiles for each user.

"These technologies feed on data about our psyche to steer, guide and alter our behaviour for financial profit," said Parellada, who is also an expert of the UOC's Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences. "Neuralink is a continuation of this psychopolitical project that already permeates our daily lives. Neuralink's ability to read data directly from our brains redefines psychopolitical dynamics, as it can influence our unconscious cognitive processes, circumventing conscious thought."

Neurotechnological implant systems such as Neuralink could thus be the ultimate tool of psychopolitics, a new form of power that shifts the focus from governing people and their bodies to managing and optimizing their minds. In other words, psychopolitics seeks to translate mental processes into data, process them by means of algorithms and then use them to predict and model behaviour. As a result, power could cease to be exerted through coercion and discipline and instead use seduction and even automation to influence unconscious processes and evade conscious thought, thus turning the mind into a production resource and the main arena of political control.

Neuralink or the risks of mind governance

Neuralink aims to develop brain implants that can read brain activity and turn it into data. It also seeks to make these brain-computer interfaces an integral part of daily life, just like mobile phones. While acknowledging Neuralink's therapeutic potential in the treatment of certain ailments, the authors of the study highlight the serious political implications of the project. Specifically, the researchers have noted four clear risks arising from this technology:

• Loss of individual agency: it is no longer the individual who decides to get better or change their behaviour: the system decides for them.
• Commodification of mental processes: neural data as a new economic resource.
• Outsourcing of mental health: psychological care and well-being can be delegated to devices controlled by private companies.
• Adapting individuals to the system: the political focus shifts from addressing the social conditions that lead to discontent to biologically adapting people to the system.

"For example, in the medical field of mental health, part of our agency comes from the opportunity to consciously consider what psychologists are telling us or decide whether or not to take our anxiety meds. Letting Neuralink into our lives means having our psychiatrist or psychologist in our heads at all times. Neuralink could get involved at the first sign of discomfort or neural activity that might hinder an individual's ability to function properly in their daily life," said Parellada.

According to the researcher, this technology is an opportunity to access the last part of our body that had remained beyond reach until now: our neural architecture and unconscious mental processes. This has in turn sparked fresh discussions in society on matters such as safeguarding neurorights or whether we should regulate new neural technologies that open the door to psychopolitics.

"Given the potential loss of agency for individuals that may result from Neuralink and the threat that this new form of governmentality poses to the democracy that we live in or aspire to, our proposal is not so much about regulation but about raising awareness, questioning and reflecting on devices and our relationship with them in order to increase our sovereignty," said Parellada. "We believe it's important to retain a certain degree of conscious and reflective human agency in our relationship with these neurotechnologies, encourage neurotechnology projects that are not controlled by large private corporations and foster greater transparency regarding their capabilities and the possibilities they give rise to."

For more information:

Parellada Guillamón, S., Gálvez Mozo, A., & Tirado Serrano, F. (2025). Neuralink and the rise of psychopolitical governmentality. Culture, Theory and Critique. https://doi.org/10.1080/14735784.2025.2582471

This research falls under the UOC's Culture for a critical society research mission and supports UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 3, Good Health and Well-being; 4, Quality Education; and 16, Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions.

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