Ethics
ETHICS OF NEURAL INTERFACES
Mental Work Research Platform for Ethical Implementation of Neural Interfaces aims to assess and mitigate several key societal impacts that the development of neural interfaces could have. We introduce users to neural interfaces through the existing Mental Work system—asking them to engage with a machine by modulating their brain activity after a short training period. They will be equipped with a state-of-the-art dry EEG helmet and given several minutes to interact with the machine without the intermediary of a physical interface. In this way, we can more actively engage them in the following themes in the form of unstructured interviews. Having just actively engaged with a neural interface, they will feel more invested in the ethical implications of the technology as it quickly develops.
Our study will look to empirically assess the public’s potential concern about neural interfaces, engaging them in conversations around these four key societal impacts concern:
- Data privacy and consent
- Individual agency and sense of identity
- Human augmentation and risk of greater inequalities
- Bias in neural interfaces
