EBRAINS is a new digital research infrastructure created by the EU-funded Human Brain Project (HBP) that gathers an extensive range of data and tools for brain-related research. EBRAINS capitalises on the work performed by the HBP teams in digital neuroscience, brain medicine, brain-inspired technology and Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI). On 16 June, we held a webinar describing how the Human Brain Project deals with issues of responsible research & dual use.
In this presentation, Dr Manuel Guerrero introduces how ethical and social issues, such as dual use, are identified and addressed in the HBP and how it can be further developed EBRAINS. The novel approach goes beyond the current research ethics practice, based on ethics reviews by institutional review boards (IRB) and underpinned by ethical principlism, implementing Responsible Research and Innovation through dialogues in a bottom-up perspective, with support from different HBP ethics-related processes and governance structures such as the Ethics Rapporteur Programme, the Dual Use Working Group, and an external Ethics Advisory Board.