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…
Can you be cloned?
Why can we feel metaphysical nausea at the thought of cloned humans? I guess it has to do with how we, without giving ourselves sufficient time to reflect, are captivated by a simple image of individuality and cloning. The image then controls our thinking. We may imagine that cloning consists in multiplying our unique individuality in the…
Ethically responsible robot development
Development of new technologies sometimes draws inspiration from nature. How do plants and animals solve the problem? An example is robotics, where one wants to develop better robots based on what neuroscience knows about the brain. How does the brain solve the problem? Neuroscience, in turn, sees new opportunities to test hypotheses about the brain…
What is required of an ethics of artificial intelligence?
I recently highlighted criticism of the ethics that often figures in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). An ethics that can handle the challenges that AI presents us with requires more than just beautifully formulated ethical principles, values and guidelines. What exactly is required of an ethics of artificial intelligence? Michele Farisco, Kathinka Evers and Arleen Salles address the issue…
Ethics as renewed clarity about new situations
An article in the journal Big Data & Society criticizes the form of ethics that has come to dominate research and innovation in artificial intelligence (AI). The authors question the same “framework interpretation” of ethics that you could read about on the Ethics Blog last week. However, with one disquieting difference. Rather than functioning as a…
How can we ensure responsible neurorobotics?
Neurorobotics exists at the intersection of neuroscience and robotics. Some of the ethical concerns raised by the technology are inherited by its parent(s). Worker safety, systems reliability, and unconscious biases, to name a few. But with new technology comes new ethical and social challenges. A recent publication offers an important first step towards responsible neurorobotics.…
Q&A with Ethics Rapporteurs: Neurorobotics
What ethical and societal questions scientists, engineers and developers in the Human Brain Project (HBP) encounter in their work? How do they deal with them? To shed some light on these questions we have a Q&A series with Ethics Rapporteurs. The second rapporteur in the series to answer our questions is Dr. Francesca Irene Cavallaro…
Responsible AI Frontrunner Internship @ DMU
Are you a student at De Montfort University (DMU) interested in social, ethical and political aspects of Artificial Intelligence (AI)? We are currently inviting applications for Responsible AI Frontrunner internship. This internship is based within the Human Brain Project’s (HBP) Ethics Support team at the Centre for Computing and Social Responsibility (CCSR). Application deadline is…
Ethics & RRI @ HBP Open Day and Summit 2020
Last week from 2nd to 6th February the Human Brain Project’s (HBP) Ethics Support team was at the HBP Open Day and Summit 2020 in Athens, Greece. These events provided great opportunities to reflect on the work done in the previous seven years of the HBP and plan the remaining three years of the project…
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