The NeuroRight Arcades

Neuro-wearables and BCIs (Brain-Computer-Interfaces) are already here, and soon they will be everywhere. As innovation is moving faster than the social and ethical frameworks around it, researchers at Columbia University have developed 5 NeuroRights:

Mental Privacy, Personal Identity, Free Will, Equal Access to Mental Augmentation, and Protection Against Algorithmic Bias.

The NeuroRights Initiative has proposed a kind of Hippocratic Oath, similar to that taken by doctors worldwide in their commitment to protecting their patients, but applied to companies. The aim is to secure a commitment to ensure that digital advances do not interfere with neurorights. This has focused on the acceptance of such an oath by the world’s leading technology companies.

Inspired by and based on these NeuroRights, Roel Heremans and his team have designed a series of 5 interactive installations to make each NeuroRight tangible for participants. They want participants to explore unasked questions about the future of our NeuroRights in a world where BCIs are ubiquitous.

Wearing a real-time BCI headphones in front of a custom-made Arcade Machine, participants are guided through an aesthetic experience where their mental state is transparent and malleable.

The visitors can download a print of their brainwaves when the installation ends. With this, the team hopes to evoke a visceral reaction so participants feel the need for NeuroRights on a personal level.