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…
Digital twins & virtual brains: the importance of conceptual clarity and transparency
Researchers are trying to develop digital twins of the human brain by building so-called ‘virtual brains’. Trying to create virtual copies of such a complex organ, that we know increasingly yet still very little about is a great challenge. In a recent publication, Kathinka Evers and Arleen Salles explore philosophical and neuroethical challenges associated with…
The value of neuroethics and philosophical reflection in the Human Brain Project
The Human Brain Project is committed to implementing responsibility in research and innovation practices. But implementing responsibility means more than setting standards or enforcing compliance. It also means changing mindsets and promoting an ethical culture: A culture where scientific excellence also includes ethical excellence. In the Human Brain Project, we are integrating neuroethics and philosophy…
Become a dialogue host: Bring home the debate about the future of brain research
From October to the end of December 2021, more than 700 citizens from five EU member states (Denmark, Germany, Italy, Hungary, and Spain) and the UK will take part in dialogue meetings in GlobalSay on brain research. The dialogue meetings is a part of the Human Brain Project and our efforts to be responsive to…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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