Hacking the brain: brain–computer interfacing technology and the ethics of neurosecurity

Marcello Ienca, Pim Haselager

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

111 Scopus citations

Abstract

Brain–computer interfacing technologies are used as assistive technologies for patients as well as healthy subjects to control devices solely by brain activity. Yet the risks associated with the misuse of these technologies remain largely unexplored. Recent findings have shown that BCIs are potentially vulnerable to cybercriminality. This opens the prospect of “neurocrime”: extending the range of computer-crime to neural devices. This paper explores a type of neurocrime that we call brain-hacking as it aims at the illicit access to and manipulation of neural information and computation. As neural computation underlies cognition, behavior and our self-determination as persons, a careful analysis of the emerging risks of malicious brain-hacking is paramount, and ethical safeguards against these risks should be considered early in design and regulation. This contribution is aimed at raising awareness of the emerging risk of malicious brain-hacking and takes a first step in developing an ethical and legal reflection on those risks.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)117-129
Number of pages13
JournalEthics and Information Technology
Volume18
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Jun 2016
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Agency
  • Autonomy
  • Brain-hacking
  • Brain–computer interfacing
  • Neurocrime
  • Neurosecurity
  • Privacy

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