Presentation Title: “Ethical implications of brain-computer interface mediated communications”

Abstract:

In May 23, Neuralink, a company founded by E. Musk, received FDA approval to apply brain implants to the human body. Subjective experiences such as consciousness, feelings, and thoughts have been thought to be areas that cannot be directly interfered with by the outside world, but with the development of brain-computer interface (BCI) technology, the boundaries between human mental experiences and the external world are becoming increasingly blurred. While previous technologies have been designed to receive, record, and transmit the results of human cognition and thought as they are expressed to the outside world, BCI heralds a revolution in human communication as a means of interpreting and expressing human cognition and thought itself. In the same way that digital storage media have replaced some of our memory capabilities, BCI has the potential to change the way we live our lives and the identity we have as individuals. BCI provides an alternative way of interacting for those with physical disabilities by translating control commands to trigger wheelchairs or virtual interface devices. BCI technology in humans is still at the level of small-scale clinical trials, but innovations in miniaturization of electrodes for implantation in the body and artificial intelligence for decoding brain signals are emerging. In this study, we will explore the ethical implications of overcoming the limitations of the body and digitizing the human mind through BCI technology.