Lecturer: Guglielmo Tamburrini
Fields: Brain-Computer Interfaces, Neuroethics, Philosophy of Mind, Personal Identity, Human Enhancement
Content
OVERVIEW:
This course addresses major philosophical issues arising in connection with present and prospective brain-machine interactions enabled by BCI technologies. These philosophical issues span scientific methodology, dimensions of personal identity and consciousness affected by brain-machine interaction, human augmentation promises, ethical and societal impact of BCI technologies. The course is self-contained, insofar as it provides basic background information about the involved scientific, technological, and philosophical notions.
MORE DETAILED DESCRIPTION:
The first lecture explores the landscape of BCI technologies and research programmes, elaborating on such distinctions as those between active and passive BCI, invasive and non-invasive neural interfaces, restoration and extension of human mental or motor capabilities. This survey comes with a broad preview of philosophical issues elicited by BCI inquiries.
The second lecture introduces major epistemological issues in brain-machine interaction. These include machine learning and adaptation challenges in relation to unsteady brain activity landscapes; the parallel need for brain to machine adaptation; machine neurofeedback and the “know thyself” Socratic maxim.
The third lecture deals with the impact of BCI on human enhancement, personal identity and consciousness issues: BCI motor control, enhancement, sense of agency and authorship; temporal dimensions of personal identity and the changing boundary between self and non-self; BCI and the detection of conscious mental states; BCI and the persistence of consciousness in locked-in patients.
The fourth lecture examines BCI ethical and societal implications. These include mind reading and privacy; responsibility and authorship for BCI-mediated action; the gap between technological hype and reality; magical thinking about BCI technologies; related public trust and distrust in science and technology; BCI and neuroenhancement in military applications.
Literature
- Cinel, C, Valeriani, D, and Poli, R (2019). Neurotechnologies for Human
- Cognitive Augmentation: Current State of the Art and Future Prospects. Front. Hum. Neurosci. 13:13. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2019.00013
- Kübler, A (2020). The history of BCI: From a vision for the future to real support for personhood in people with locked-in syndrome, Neuroethics 13, 163–180. doi: 10.1007/s12152-019-09409-4
Lecturer
Guglielmo Tamburrini (PhD in Philosophy, Columbia University, 1987) is Research Associate and retired Philosophy of Science and Technology Professor at Università di Napoli Federico II in Italy. His research interests focus on ethical and social issues in the context of AI, human-computer, and human-robot interactions. Coordinator of the first European project on the ethics of robotics (ETHICBOTS, 2005-2008), he was awarded in 2014 the Giulio Preti International Prize by the Regional Parliament of Tuscany for his contributions to the dialogue between Science, Philosophy and Democracy. Scientific Board member of USPID (Unione degli Scienziati per il Disarmo), Fellow of the Nexa Center for Internet and Society at Politecnico di Torino, Member of ICRAC (International Committee for Robot Arms Control), and member of the ISODARCO Association (International School on Disarmament and Research on Conflicts).
Affiliation: DIETI, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Information Technologies, Università di Napoli Federico II, Italy
Homepage: https://www.guglielmotamburrini.com