Ethical Dimensions of Implanted Neurotechnologies - The Multi-Regional Clinical Trials Center of Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard

Topic: Ethical Dimensions of Implanted Neurotechnologies

Abstract: Implanted neurotechnologies hold promise for treating neurological and psychiatric disorders, restoring impaired functions such as speech and movement, and extending human capabilities through brain-computer interfaces. Recent advances in artificial intelligence have accelerated clinical trials of neural implants, including first-in-human studies of devices that enable people with quadriplegia or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis to control a computer cursor or assistive devices with their thoughts. 

At the same time, neurally implanted devices raise distinctive ethical challenges. The data these devices generate—real-time neural recordings that may reflect a participant’s intentions, thoughts, or affective states—pose complex questions of neuroprivacy and data protection. The ability of these devices to “read your mind” and to influence action challenges traditional notions of privacy, accountability, and moral culpability. Traditional research ethics concerns about device failure, migration, and abandonment; unintended psychiatric or neurological changes that may be irreversible; consent among participants whose disability affects communication or decision-making capacity; and therapeutic misconception persist. Finally, these ethical challenges appear in a different light when viewed in the context of medically important neuropsychiatric research versus non-medical neuroaugmentation or human cognitive enhancement.

How do we ensure that research with implanted neurotechnologies proceeds responsibly, honoring both the therapeutic promise of these technologies and the vulnerabilities of those who participate, while limiting work that may be morally problematic?

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This meeting is open to sponsors of the MRCT Center Bioethics Collaborative and select invited guests. For more information about the Bioethics Collaborative and how to become a sponsor, click here.