Consenso e capacità giuridica nell’era dell’IA neuroassistita: profili bioetici e implicazioni dell’art. 14 AI Act

Abstract: Consent and Legal Capacity in the Era of Neuro-assisted AI: Bioethical Profiles and Implications of Article 14 of the AI Act
This paper examines the legal and ethical challenges posed by the use of brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) in the decision-making processes of individuals with severe communicative disabilities, particularly in cases of locked-in syndrome (LIS) and completely locked-in state (CLIS). These technologies, by enabling the expression of will through neural signals, call for a critical reassessment of the traditional foundations of will manifestation and deeply question the very notion of legal capacity. The issue is not merely whether individuals can perform dispositive acts, but whether legal subjectivity can be upheld without reliance on conventional expressive channels. The paper explores the possibility of assigning legal value to expressions of will entirely mediated by algorithms, highlighting the challenges related to computational opacity and neurophysiological variability. In this context, Article 14 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 on Artificial Intelligence (AI Act) is analyzed. This provision introduces the principle of meaningful human oversight for high-risk systems such as BCIs. Such oversight is interpreted not as a mere technical requirement, but as an essential ethical and legal safeguard to ensure authenticity, responsibility, and self-determination.