Ethical Challenges Associated with the Development and Deployment of Brain Computer Interface Technology
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ORIGINAL PAPER
Ethical Challenges Associated with the Development and Deployment of Brain Computer Interface Technology Paul McCullagh & Gaye Lightbody & Jaroslaw Zygierewicz & W. George Kernohan
Received: 21 December 2012 / Accepted: 12 July 2013 # Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2013
Abstract Brain Computer Interface (BCI) technology offers potential for human augmentation in areas ranging from communication to home automation, leisure and gaming. This paper addresses ethical challenges associated with the wider scale deployment of BCI as an assistive technology by documenting issues associated with the development of non-invasive BCI technology. Laboratory testing is normally carried out with volunteers but further testing with subjects, who may be in vulnerable groups is often needed to improve system operation. BCI development is technically complex, sometimes requiring lengthy recording sessions to achieve the necessary personalisation of the paradigms, and this can present ethical challenges that vary depending on the subject group. The paper contributes to the on-going ethical discussion surrounding the deployment BCI outside the specialist laboratory P. McCullagh (*) : G. Lightbody School of Computing and Mathematics, University of Ulster, Shore Road, Newtownabbey BT37 0QB, UK e-mail: [email protected] G. Lightbody e-mail: [email protected] J. Zygierewicz Wydział Fizyki, Uniwersytet Warszawski, Hoża 69, 00 681 Warszawa, Poland e-mail: [email protected] W. G. Kernohan School of Nursing, University of Ulster, Shore Road, Newtownabbey BT37 0QB, UK e-mail: [email protected]
and suggests some tentative guidelines for BCI research teams, appropriate to those deploying the technology, derived from experience on a multisite project. Any tension between deployment and technical progress must be managed by a formal process within a multidisciplinary consortium. Keywords Neuroethics . Brain-Computer-Interface . Non-invasive . Development . Deployment
Introduction The starting point for any ethical consideration can be reduced to the statement that net benefits (including new knowledge) should outweigh net harm or inconvenience. The four canons of autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence and justice, first introduced 30 years ago (see [1]) continue to act as a guiding framework today. These principles are helpful, but require further consideration to adequately capture the complex nature of development and deployment of emerging technology. For technology whose application has been predominantly in the research laboratory, the link between knowledge acquisition and improving subject experience in the real world may seem to be tenuous or far off. The intricate functioning of the human brain is still not fully understood. An initiative to unlock its mysteries, denoted BRAIN, was announced by President Obama in April 2013 [2]. The project, ‘Brain Research Through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies’, to begin in 2014, will utilize a plethora of imaging
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