Opinion on 'Responsible Dual Use' Political, Security, Intelligence and Military Research of Concern in Neuroscience and Neurotechnology

Aicardi, Christine; Bitsch, Lise; Bådum, Nicklas Bang; Datta, Saheli; Evers, Kathinka; Farisco, Michele; Fothergill, Tyr; Giordano, James; Harris, Emma; Jørgensen, Marie Louise; Klüver, Lars; Mahfoud, Tara; Rainey, Stephen; Riisgaard, Karen; Rose, Nikolas; Salles, Arleen; Stahl, Bernd; Ulnicane, Inga

doi:10.5281/zenodo.4588601

Cited by 6 publications

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“…Otherwise, between 2014 and 2016, our main objective was to conduct foresight work to identify and evaluate potential social and ethical implications of new knowledge and technologies developed by the HBP (Changeux et al 2016, 7;Rose et al 2015a;Rose et al 2016). Between 2016 and 2018, we worked on developing a framework for understanding dual use and misuse issues that go beyond the dualistic military/civilian applications of neuroscience research and neurotechnologies (Aicardi et al 2021;Mahfoud et al 2018). And later between 2018 and 2020, we worked on the ethical implications of brain-inspired computing and Artificial Intelligence (AI), as well as the clinical translation of computational brain models (Burton et al 2021;Ethics & Society et al 2021).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Formal and Informal Infrastructures of Collaboration in the Human Brain Project

Aicardi

Mahfoud

2022

Science, Technology, & Human Values

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This article draws on long-term engagement with the Human Brain Project (HBP), one of the Future and Emerging Technology Flagship Initiatives funded by the European Commission to address EU “grand challenges” of understanding the human brain and applying these insights to brain-inspired technology development. Based on participant observation and interviews with researchers and project administrators, our findings suggest that the formal infrastructure built to facilitate and structure collaboration within large-scale interdisciplinary research projects can be in tension with the ways researchers collaborate. While much of the literature on infrastructure focuses on top-down, formal infrastructural design, we also pay attention to the informal, bottom-up infrastructural assemblage involved in large-scale interdisciplinary collaborations. This brings into question how scientists and science funders navigate the tensions and interactions between formal and informal infrastructure, rendering certain kinds of collaboration and knowledge (in)visible.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Formal and Informal Infrastructures of Collaboration in the Human Brain Project

Aicardi

Mahfoud

2022

Science, Technology, & Human Values

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The Unique and Practical Advantages of Applying A Capability Approach to Brain Computer Interface

Jecker

2022

Philos. Technol.

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Intelligent neurotechnology is an emerging field that combines neurotechnologies like brain-computer interface (BCI) with artificial intelligence. This paper introduces a capability framework to assess the responsible use of intelligent BCI systems and provide practical ethical guidance. It proposes two tests, the threshold and flourishing tests, that BCI applications must meet, and illustrates them in a series of cases. After a brief introduction (Section 1), Section 2 sets forth the capability view and the two tests. It illustrates the threshold test using examples from clinical medicine of BCI applications that enable patients with profound disabilities to function at a threshold level through computer mediation. Section 3 illustrates the flourishing test by exploring possible future applications of BCI involving neuroenhancements for healthy people, using examples adapted from research currently underway in the US military. Section 3 applies a capability lens to a complex case involving dual effects, both therapeutic and non-therapeutic, showing how the threshold and flourishing tests resolve the case. Section 4 replies to three objections: neurorights are the best tool for assessing BCI; the two tests are moving targets; and the analysis utilizes a capability view to do work it is not designed for. The paper concludes that a capability view offers unique advantages and gives practical guidance for evaluating the responsible use of present and future BCI applications. Extrapolating from our analysis may help guide other emerging technologies, such as germline gene editing, expected to impact central human capabilities.

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Neuroethics beyond the laboratory door: The new state-level brain research projects and the problem of dual use

Dando

2020

Ethics, Medicine and Public Health

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Opinion on 'Responsible Dual Use' Political, Security, Intelligence and Military Research of Concern in Neuroscience and Neurotechnology

Cited by 6 publications

References 0 publications

Formal and Informal Infrastructures of Collaboration in the Human Brain Project

Formal and Informal Infrastructures of Collaboration in the Human Brain Project

The Unique and Practical Advantages of Applying A Capability Approach to Brain Computer Interface

Neuroethics beyond the laboratory door: The new state-level brain research projects and the problem of dual use

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