Innovation in neuro-wearables and Brain-Computer-Interfaces is advancing faster than the social and ethical frameworks surrounding them. Researchers at Columbia University have therefore developed five NeuroRights: Mental Privacy, Personal Identity, Freedom of Will, Equal Access to Mental Augmentation, and Protection from Algorithmic Bias.
Inspired by these NeuroRights, Roel Heremans and his team have designed an interactive installation, an arcade machine, to make each of these NeuroRights tangible and inform about the ethical future of neurotechnology. Using a BCI headset, one is guided through an aesthetic experience at the installation. With this, the team hopes to evoke a visceral reaction, so that participants feel the need for NeuroRights on a personal level.
If desired, a digital printout of the recorded brain waves can be obtained via a QR code. Just when you might think you have been ethically empowered, you could get the uncanny realization that the installation has done exactly what it warned you about.
Credit:
The installation was developed together with a team of neuro-experts from KU Leuven and Howest – Digital Arts and Entertainment Kortrijk during residencies at the Ars Electronica Futurelab, Kunstenwerkplaats Brussels, Werktank Leuven and C-Takt Pelt.
Interactive Design by Tyrell
BCI software by Yuhan Zhang, Thai Duong Truong and Maarten Francq
Neurological advice by Chie Nakatani and Cees van Leeuwen
Artistic advice by Emanuele Dainotti and Evan Cole
Arcade design by Rudi van de Kerkhof
This project is funded by the Flemish Ministry of Culture, Youth and Media
