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Brain-Computer Interfaces: Current and Future Investigations in the Philosophy and Politics of Neurotechnology

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Clinical Neurotechnology meets Artificial Intelligence

Part of the book series: Advances in Neuroethics ((AIN))

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Abstract

Important insights have been generated by ethicists, philosophers, sociologists, lawyers, and representatives from other disciplines regarding the ethics of neurotechnology in general and of brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) in particular. However, since (medical) BCIs have yet to leave the laboratory and the context of clinical studies and enter the “real” world, many important normative questions remain unanswered. In this paper we summarize the main lines of ethical inquiry regarding BCIs, both from the general academic discussion and with a view on the results gained in INTERFACES, an interdisciplinary project on the normative dimensions of BCIs. Furthermore, we offer our perspective on future research and argue that the ethics of technology should explore decision-making processes by which communities and societies regulate emerging technologies, such as BCIs.

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Acknowledgments

Work on this paper was funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) in Germany (INTERFACES, 01GP1622A) and by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation)—418201802. We would like to thank Dorothea Wagner von Hoff for proofreading the article, Meliz-Sema Kaygusuz and Bernadette Scherer for formatting.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Ethics, History and Theory of Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) München, Munich, Germany

    Andreas Wolkenstein

  2. Institute of Philosophy, FernUniversität in Hagen, Hagen, Germany

    Orsolya Friedrich

Authors
  1. Andreas Wolkenstein
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  2. Orsolya Friedrich
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Andreas Wolkenstein .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Philosophy, FernUniversität in Hagen, Hagen, Germany

    Orsolya Friedrich

  2. Institute of Ethics, History and Theory of Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) München, Munich, Germany

    Andreas Wolkenstein

  3. Faculty of Law, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

    Christoph Bublitz

  4. Institute of Humanities in Medicine and Clinical Ethics Unit, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland

    Ralf J. Jox

  5. University of Montreal and McGill University, Institut de recherches cliniques de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada

    Eric Racine

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Wolkenstein, A., Friedrich, O. (2021). Brain-Computer Interfaces: Current and Future Investigations in the Philosophy and Politics of Neurotechnology. In: Friedrich, O., Wolkenstein, A., Bublitz, C., Jox, R.J., Racine, E. (eds) Clinical Neurotechnology meets Artificial Intelligence. Advances in Neuroethics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-64590-8_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-64590-8_6

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-64589-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-64590-8

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