Increasingly big data & the pressing need for international data governance of neuroscience

Understanding the brain requires great effort and the scale of neuroscience research projects is increasing to scale. This means crossing borders in big international research initiatives, and as a result being subject to national and international laws, regulations and policies in both data collection and transfer. While neuroscience data transcends borders, data governance typically stays…

Building an EBRAINS community in Africa

Why is EBRAINS engaging in community building activities? EBRAINS has made a commitment to build a scientific research infrastructure that empowers empirical and theoretical neuroscience that is of relevance to a highly diverse and collaborative neuroscience community. We understand that ‘the success of the EBRAINS research infrastructure will depend on its ability to mobilise the…

brain

Neuroimages, artificial intelligence & re-identification of research subjects

Taking images of the brain using magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI for short, also captures the face. For a long time, techniques that remove facial features from neuroimages have allowed for open sharing of anonymised neuroimages. But new developments in artificial intelligence and machine learning have made it possible to re-create the removed facial features…

Designing a responsible neuroscience research infrastructure

Over the past 8 years, the Human Brain Project (HBP) has tested the strengths and limitations of responsible research & innovation, also known as RRI. To mark the ten-year anniversary of RRI, a group of HBP researchers now share what can be learned from implementing this concept in a large multi-disciplinary research project. This includes…

neurons

Can AI be conscious? Let us think about the question

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has achieved remarkable results in recent decades, especially thanks to the refinement of an old and for a long time neglected technology called Deep Learning (DL), a class of machine learning algorithms. Some achievements of DL had a significant impact on public opinion thanks to important media coverage, like the cases of the…

How do we take responsibility for dual-use research?

We are more often than we think governed by old patterns of thought. As a philosopher, I find it fascinating to see how mental patterns capture us, how we get imprisoned in them, and how we can get out of them. With that in mind, I recently read a book chapter on something that is…

Dealing with responsible research & dual use in the Human Brain Project

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…

brain

Dual-use research of concern in neuroscience and neurotechnology

In this presentation, Dr. Inga Ulnicane introduces an approach to address dual-use research of concern developed in the EU-funded Human Brain Project (HBP). Advances in neuroscience and neurotechnology come with promises of new treatments but they also present important societal and ethical concerns including those of dual use, misuse and unintended use. Over the past…

Webinar 16 June: Addressing dual-use research of concern

Advances in neuroscience and neurotechnology come with promises of new treatments but they also present important societal and ethical concerns including those of dual-use, misuse, and unintended use. Over the past eight years, the Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) team of the Human Brain Project (HBP) has undertaken research, engagement, and co-creation activities in collaboration with…