Neuroethics & philosophical reflection in the Human Brain Project
In the Human Brain Project, neuroethics and philosophical reflection have provided an interface between empirical brain sciences, philosophy of mind, moral philosophy, ethics, psychology, and social sciences. The efforts made to include conceptual and normative reflection on the ethical, social, cultural, and philosophical issues that drive and arise from brain research are unique. Over the…
The ethics of ChatGPT – Exploring the ethical issues of an emerging technology
Today, anyone can access and produce AI-generated text through generative conversational AI systems like ChatGPT. The discussion around ChatGPT is often focused on specific issues such as authorship. A recent paper in International Journal of Information Management explores the ethical issues of ChatGPT and presents a systematic review of the benefits and concerns, including responsibility,…
Developing capability for responsible research and innovation across the Human Brain Project
How can we build and promote scientists’ capability to respond and act in a responsible way? A recent paper from the Human Brain Project looks at how responsible research and innovation practices can be promoted and developed through capacity-building activities and what can be learned from our work over the past decade. The Human Brain…
Including society and ethics in brain science
What is it that makes us human? Our brain is more complex than the brain of other animals. It has made us able to use tools, control fire, build supercomputers and explore the universe. Digital tools allow us to learn more about the brain. What we learn is embedded in, and dependent on growing worlds…
Measuring & describing consciousness: clinical tool and theoretical model prove compatible
The debate on how to describe consciousness is lively in the research community. A recent paper in Neuroscience of Consciousness develops an analytical comparison between a clinical tool for assessing residual conscious activity, the so-called Perturbational Complexity Index, and a theoretical model of consciousness that is different from the one that inspired it, the Global…
Time to move from ‘AI Ethics’ to a notion of responsible AI ecosystems
The current discourse on AI and ethics is both broad and rich, but there are some structural and fundamental limitations. A recent paper published in Scientific Reports suggest that artificial intelligence is better described as an ecosystem of socio-technical systems where some of the characteristics we should ask of a responsible ecosystem of intelligent systems…
Emerging ethical issues in research on consciousness
A recent special issue of the American Journal of Bioethics – Neuroscience offers analyses of different ethical issues raised by research on consciousness. Contributions from international scholars in the field address challenges ranging from moral interpretations, technological manipulations, artificial replications, pharmacological alternations and the potential to attribute consciousness to engineered brain cells. The issue is…
Implementing responsible research and innovation in the Human Brain Project
Attention to ethical and societal issues have been an important and integral part of the Human Brain Project. From the very beginning in 2013 until today. Over the years, researchers from the social sciences and the humanities have developed governance structures and mechanisms to integrate responsible research and innovation (RRI) practices across the project. But…
Time to rethink the AI ethics narrative
Artificial intelligence is challenging frameworks for both ethics and human rights and becoming a hot topic for both societal and scientific debate. AI is also placed at the top of the agenda for research and innovation policy makers. A recent publication in Technological Forecasting and Social Change presents the results from a Delphi study, inviting…
First systematic review of Artificial Intelligence impact assessments
Impact assessments can help identify both positive and negative impacts at an early stage of development. It is very likely that this will become an integral part of structures designed address the ethical and social issues. The first ever systematic review of AI impact assessment was just published in Artificial Intelligence Review, providing the basis…