Imre Brad - Ethical Dimensions of Commercial and DIY Neurotechnologies

First Edition

Imre Brd

The London School of Economics and Political Science, United Kingdom

Elisabeth Hildt

Center for the Study of Ethics in the Professions, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, United States

a Methodology Department, London School of Economics and Political Science, London, United Kingdom
b Center for the Study of Ethics in the Professions, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, IL, United States

The term neurotechnology refers to technologies that enable the monitoring and/or modulation of the function of the brain ().

During the past 2 decades, ethical issues related to monitoring and modifying the human brain with the help of neurotechnologies have been discussed intensively, with topics like autonomy, identity, privacy, safety, agency, and equality emerging as the most important considerations ().

The expansion of access to tools for the management of the mind may bring about great improvements in health, well-being and productivity, but it also presents a range of ethical and societal questions that are likely to become one of the primary concerns of neuroethics over the next decade. In fact, the Emerging Issues Task Force of the International Neuroethics Society recently identified growing consumerization as a key future topic for the field ().

The utilization of neuroscience tools and knowledge in the consumer marketing domain, the direct-to-consumer (DTC) sale of neuromonitoring and neurostimulation products, and the practice of DIY self-experimentation with brain stimulation represent the core of and motivate the present volume. Interest for neurotechnology products is on the rise, as evidenced by the fact that the largest online retailer of neurostimulation devices has recorded over 50% growth every quarter since 2014 ().

This interconnection serves to highlight the ways in which the boundaries of the neurotechnology category are becoming increasingly porous. On the one hand, neurotechnologies like brain-computer interfaces will be embedded in an expanded technological ecosystem that comprises the Internet of Things, online platforms and large data infrastructures. Scholars have also noted the growing convergence of neurotechnologies and artificial intelligence, which opens up entirely new possibilities in terms of increasing the capabilities, efficacy and precision of devices. However, a range of serious challenges around the use of algorithms are bound to emerge as well (). In addition, given to the rapid rise of big data and machine-learning capabilities, a wide range of other wearable technologies, from smart earphones and smart watches to smart rings and smart glasses can be used to make inferences about mood, behavior and mental state, as well as to offer suggestions and nudges to manage the mind.

The uncertainty around the exact definition of neurotechnologies also points to a more fundamental question about the proper scope of neuroethics as a discipline. People are increasingly surrounded by technologies that contribute to making us transparent and predictable in new ways, opening up possible channels for influencing our mental states, moods, behaviors, and well-being without directly interfacing with the brain. As a result, the breadth of topics legitimately falling within the purview of neuroethics seems to be growing. While some scholars have been arguing for the recognition of this extension for a number of years () the proliferation of technologies capable of influencing our cognitive and affective functioning in meaningful ways necessitates that neuroethicists engage more widely in discussions about technology development, design and deployment.

The present volume seeks to canvass the range of issues that emerge from these developments. Below we offer a brief summary of each contribution.

The collection opens with a piece by Iris Coates McCall and Anna Wexler, who offer a robust overview of the ethical issues related to consumer electroencephalography (EEG) devices for neuromonitoring and neurofeedback, which kickstarted the wave of direct-to-consumer neurotechnology products. The authors provide an accessible review of the workings of EEG neuromonitoring devices as well as an assessment of the current market and manufacturers' claims about the capabilities of their devices. Coates McCall and Wexler discuss current, mid-term and long-term ethical issues, arguing that widely shared concerns about brain data privacy with regard to consumer EEG devices are vastly overstated. Instead of focusing on such hypothetical concerns underpinned by a belief in the potency, accuracy and reliability of neuromonitoring devices, they suggest that steps should be taken to address misleading and unsubstantiated claims.

The chapter by Kimberly Rose Clark provides a unique look at the rapidly growing field of consumer neuroscience, written from the perspective of a pracademic who is involved in both academic research and commercial work. Clark gives a detailed description of the plethora of methods ranging from familiar brain imaging techniques through nudges and exploitations of psychological vulnerabilities, all the way to the most recent tools involving machine-learning methods for emotion detection, voice analysis, and other predictive analytics. Richly illustrated with real-world examples, the chapter revolves around the fundamental question whether neuroscience knowledge in the consumer domain allows for such a fine-grained profiling of human behavior and preferences that their use represents a threat to individual autonomy and freedom.

The piece by Nicole Martinez-Martin offers an in-depth look at the field of consumer digital mental health tools. Such tools hold out the promise of making mental health therapies more widely accessible, which is an urgent imperative given the large unmet medical need in this domain. However, as Martinez-Martin lays out, there are serious concerns with regard to privacy, transparency, accountability, safety and effectiveness. Mental health apps present challenges to established frameworks of the therapeutic encounter between patient and provider, and Martinez-Martin further demonstrates where regulatory oversight would be beneficial.

In his contribution, Imre Brd looks at sensory enhancement, arguing that this class of neurotechnologies has largely been ignored by neuroethicists. He gives an overview of the variety of technologies for sensory enhancement methods that allow for the ongoing mediation of a user's experience of the world. Brd's chapter describes the practices of the DIY sensory enhancement community and argues that these represent a hitherto untapped source for neuroethicists to study proactionary attitudes toward enhancement. In addition, the chapter looks at consumer augmented reality technologies, highlighting the risks with regard to autonomy and manipulation inherent to the expansion of algorithmically mediated experiences to the everyday perception of our environment.