Neuroethics Today

02/04/2024

Dr. Judy Illes is a Professor of Neurology, Distinguished University Scholar, and UBC Distinguished Professor in Neuroethics. She is Director of Neuroethics Canada, and faculty in the Centre for Brain Health and at the Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute. In addition to her primary appointme...

22/02/2024

22/02/2024

Learn more about neuroethicist Professor Dr. Judy Illes (Neuroethics Canada) in today's "A Day in the Life" series of the Neuroethics Today Blog.

https://www.neuroethicstoday.com/post/a-day-in-the-life-of-a-neuroethicist-judy-illes

Dr. Judy Illes is a Professor of Neurology, Distinguished University Scholar, and UBC Distinguished Professor in Neuroethics. She is Director of Neuroethics Canada, and faculty in the Centre for Brain Health and at the Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute. In addition to her primary appointme...

13/02/2024

Meet junior neuroethicist Amanda Merner, Ph.D. in this short series of a Day in the Life of a Neuroethicist
://www.neuroethicstoday.com/post/a-day-in-the-life-of-a-neuroethicist-amanda-merner

Amanda Merner is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Neuroethics at the Harvard Medical School. 1. What’s the first thing you do when you get to work in the morning? What we all do at the start of a day, open up my emails, take a look at my calendar, and project management software to see if I recei...

26/10/2023

27/09/2023

Dr. Katherine Bassil ( ) writes about the dangers of spreading on social media concerning science and technologies.

Dr. Katherine Bassil writes about the dangers of spreading misinformation on social media concerning brain science and technologies.

26/07/2023

The human mind as the next battlefield. 🧠🪖

Militaries are racing to develop weapons that could one day directly assault or disable human minds.🧠⚔️

Nita Farahany calls for the need to “raise public awareness of the risks associated with digital platforms and neurotechnology devices by giving the public concrete information about the risks to themselves and national security.”🎗️⚖️📣

She states that “educating users about potential dangers and promoting digital literacy will empower individuals to make informed decisions about their online presence and the devices they use.”🧠❌

Read the full article here👇: https://lnkd.in/eP4iVz2A

12/12/2022

🚿ETHICS WASHING❌
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Here is everything you need to know about ethics washing and ways to avoid it☝️
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Are you familiar with other examples of ethics washing? Let us know in the comments 👇
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ℹ️Journal of Medical Ethics Blog: We need to eliminate ethics-washing, 2022
ℹ️MIT Technology Review, In 2020, let’s stop AI ethics washing and actually do something, 2019
ℹ️Venture Beat, How AI companies can avoid ethics washing, 2019
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24/11/2022

Do we need Ethics Communication? Katherine Bassil breaks down the why and how in this short blog post.

When people ask me what is ‘Neuroethics Today’, or what is ‘neuroethics’, replying with the standard textbook definition ‘it is the study of the ethical, legal, and societal implications of neuroscience and neurotechnology’ leave those that were once curious about my work, distant and pe...

11/05/2022

Check out our recent episode with our special guest dr. Nicole Martinez-Martin () discussing the ethics of mental health mobile apps.

During Episode 6 of Season 2, we decided to focus our attention on digital mental health interventions, namely mental health mobile applications. Katherine Bassil - founder and host - together with Dr. Nicole Martinez-Martin - Assistant Professor at Stanford University - discuss the ethics of mental...

14/03/2022

How true is this‼️
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Check out our discussion with dr. Katleen Gabriels about all things AI ethics (link in bio).
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12/01/2022

The next time some pop-up tries to push you into downloading an app, or buying a “brain game”, claiming to help you boost power, you know the truth!
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It seems that the science is inconclusive. There is no consensus. While some studies show some kind of effect, others don’t show any at all!
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Have/Do you ever played/play so called brain games?
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22/12/2021

NEUROLAW🧠⚖️
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Is it neuroscience? Is it law? Well, it’s both ✌🏼Here’s a quick summary of what you need to know about Neurolaw☝🏼Swipe ⬅️for an intriguing case study!🤓
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ℹ️Neurolaw: A Brief Introduction, Petoft A., 2015.
ℹ️The Atlantic | The Brain Gets its Day in Court
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13/11/2021

You can now check out Katherine Bassil’s PechaKucha talk👇🏼

Throughout her studies, Katherine has questioned the implications of her research, realizing how important it is to look beyond the laboratory and be sceptical of the ramifications of neuroscience research and neurotechnologies. Believing that responsible innovation starts with the pub...

28/10/2021

NEURORIGHTS⚖️
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Everything you need to know☝🏼
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There are two schools of thought when it comes to . Some scholars think we need them, while others think they aren’t the solution. But what do YOU think? Let us know👇🏼
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ℹ️Scientific American | The Rise of Neurotechnology
ℹ️ The NeuroRights Foundation
ℹ️ M Ienca & R Andorno 2017
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05/10/2021

Almost 2 years ago,
Together with experts in the field, put forward recommendations for responsible innovation in neurotechnology. These recommendations aim to help and guide governments and companies to innovate while taking into consideration ethical, legal, and societal implications.
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Of note, guidelines are not legally binding. However they can be used to make informed decisions.
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22/09/2021

NEUROERGONOMICS🤯
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Just another sassy title for the use of neuroscience and neurotechnologies in everyday life.
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If you had all the money 💰 in the world, which neuroergonomic application would you invest in and which one would you absolutely not? And why?👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼
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Sources:
ℹ️Brouwer, A. (2021)
ℹ️Frontiers
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09/09/2021

⚠️MISUSE OF NEUROTECHNOLOGIES👇🏼
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While most neurotechnologies are designed for beneficial and often medicinal purposes, they can also carry a harmful side to them. That’s when we refer to them as dual-use neurotechnologies.
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Should certain technologies be banned for particular (harmful) applications? What do you think👇🏼
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Sources:
ℹ️The Human Brain Project
ℹ️Tennison&Moreno, PLOS Biology
ℹ️OECD
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06/09/2021

If you’ve watched Jurassic Park🦖, this quote might be familiar👇🏼
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"Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should."
- Dr. Ian Malcolm
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Do you ever worry of the implications of brain research and innovation?
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05/09/2021

Which one are you?👇🏼

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01/09/2021

When you know, you know!
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26/08/2021

INFLUENCERS, this one’s for you⬇️

You’ve been approached by several companies to promote and market their (brain) supplements/products. It sounds exciting, they are promising you a lot in return and you are very tempted but you’ve never heard of their product and you find yourself in a dilemma. Should I take the deal? Here’s what you can do⬇️

(1) Do your own research on the company. Who are they? How long have they existed? Do they have an R&D (Research and Development) team? If so, direct all questions you have to their R&D (see below).

(2) Do your own research on the supplement/product. Is it FDA/EMA approved? Is there research looking into its effects? Are there any side effects? Is it safe?

(3) Ask yourself these questions. Am I comfortable promoting something I’m not very familiar with? Do I want to be held responsible if things don’t go as planned? Is it worth it? What is more important: the money I’ll make or my followers’ trust?

Even influencers can practice neuroethics!

FYI. As a consumer you can follow these steps as well! Instead of being a passive consumer, you’ll turn into an informed consumer and will end up making the decision that’s best for you!👨🏽‍💻

25/08/2021

MEET THE FOUNDER👩🏻‍🏫
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Hello everyone 👋🏻 my name is Katherine Bassil and I am the founder of Neuroethics Today!
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A little background🔚
I got my Bachelors degree in general sciences and a minor in Psychology at the Lebanese American University in Lebanon (where I originally come from). I decided to go abroad for my Masters and landed in Maastricht University in the Netherlands where I specialized in fundamental Neurosciences (or molecular neuroscience). I am now 3 years into my PhD investigating stress vulnerability in military soldiers using stem cell technology(more about that another time).
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Why Neuroethics?😯
I got introduced to neuroethics during a conference that took place at the faculty of Law at Maastricht University and I fell in love! I immediately grew passionate for the field and wanted to jump aboard as fast as possible! I am now involved in several neuroethics projects nationally and internationally including being on the member of the International Neuroethics Society (INS)’s 2021 Program Committee.
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Why did I launch Neuroethics Today?💡
Neuroethics Today was launched after realizing the importance of neuroethics and a realization of a lack of awareness both within my department but also to those around me in my social circle. I wanted to raise awareness on neuroethics not only with my fellow colleagues but also my friends and family and if I’m lucky reach as many of you as possible.
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Thank you for joining me on this endeavor! I would love to know why you are interested in neuroethics?☺️Comment below⬇️
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22/08/2021

COGNITIVE ENHANCERS🧠
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What you need to know⬆️
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Sources:
> doi: 10.1177/2398212818816018
> doi: 10.3390/brainsci11030355
> doi: 10.3389/fnsys.2014.00107
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18/08/2021

• BRAIN DATA: Privacy vs. Mining

• What you should know👆

• Sources:
> https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2020.101134
> https://heydan.ai/dangers-of-data-mining/
> https://doi.org/10.1177%2F096228020000900404
> https://www.humanbrainproject.eu/en/social-ethical-reflective/about/data-governance/data-protection/applying-gdpr/

16/08/2021

• Responsible brain innovation also knows as responsible or ethical neurotechnology is the research, creation, and consumption of neurotechnolgies responsibly.

• Neurotechnologies include brain devices, pharmacological substances also known as nootropics, or any technology that directly or indirectly has an effect on the brain.

• Why you? (and not only researchers)
You know how the saying goes “Knowledge is Power”? Well it holds true for neurotechnologies as well. Knowing what is going on behind “closed doors” or the research taking place in laboratories and eventually in the market for you to purchase is giving power to you to make sure that you are aware of what is true and what is false, what is hope and what is hype, what is safe and what is not!

• Responsibility is taking the power back and making informed-decisions, but also taking part in discussions that have your best interest and yours (yours and your community) alone.

• That’s why…

• Responsible Innovation Starts With You.

12/08/2021

Check out our latest blog post on "A Day in the Life of a Neuroethicist", this time featuring Dr. Adrian Carter from Monash University.

This is from the series 'A Day in the Life of a Neuroethicist' this time featuring Dr. Adrian Carter

15/07/2021

Check out our latest blog post on "A Day in the Life of a Neuroethicist", this time featuring INS () president Professor Nita Farahany ().

https://www.neuroethicstoday.com/post/a-day-in-the-life-of-a-neuroethicist-nita-farahany

Nita A. Farahany is a leading scholar on the ethical, legal, and social implications of emerging technologies. She is a Robinson O. Everett Professor of Law & Philosophy, the Founding Director of Duke Science & Society Initiative, Chair of the Duke MA in Bioethics & Science Policy, and principal inv...

29/06/2021

Check out our latest blog post on "A Day in the Life of a Neuroethicist", this time featuring Dr. Laura Specker Sullivan.

https://www.neuroethicstoday.com/post/a-day-in-the-life-of-a-neuroethicist-laura-specker-sullivan

Laura Specker Sullivan is an interdisciplinary ethicist and an assistant professor of Philosophy at Fordham University. Her research interests focus on cross-cultural ethics and neuroscience, for instance she investigated the ethics of brain death and organ transplantation in Tokyo. She is currently...

18/06/2021

Check out our latest blog post on "A Day in the Life of a Neuroethicist", this time featuring Dr. Karen Herrera-Ferrá.

Karen Herrera-Ferrá is the founder and president of the Asociación Mexicana de Neuroética (Mexican Association of Neuroethics) and member of the International Neuroethics Society. Her research analyzes the biocultural considerations and ethical, legal, and social issues and concerns in the use of...