This meeting took place on Feb 27-29, 2020 in Durham, NC. The summit was chaired by Dr. Steven Hyman, co-hosted with Dr. Nita Farahany at the Duke Initiative for Science & Society, and was made possible by sponsorship from The Kavli Foundation and the Charles A. Dana Foundation.
A small group of interdisciplinary leaders anchored this important national advisory committee, which will help to set the agenda for the larger (tentatively 250 person) international, interdisciplinary summit to be convened at the Asilomar Conference Grounds in 2021. This effort differs from other neuroethics summits by engaging more deeply with representatives from the private sector, including entrepreneurs, investors, and executives from the technology and life science industries.
Participants in the first advisory committee meeting included leaders from the NIH/NINDS, the US BRAIN Initiative, the International Neuroethics Society, the International Brain Initiative, and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). It is particularly timely to formulate the role of neuroethics in the future of neurotechnology. The importance of such deliberations and the are highlighted by new investments in brain projects across the world, a burgeoning neurotechnology industry, and other fast-moving sources of innovation. It is a critical time for a diverse community to discuss areas in neuroscience in most in need of new intellectual energy and financial support, principles for interactions with industry, and other issues that will guide the development of this vibrant and influential field.
Photos from the Duke Advisory Meeting
Purpose
The goal of this advisory committee meeting was to begin designing the agenda for BrainMind’s global neuroethics summit focused on the research, development, distribution, and use of existing and near-term innovations in brain science, to be convened at the Asilomar Conference Grounds in California. With this summit, we envision the collaborative creation of ethics guidance for members of the BrainMind ecosystem and its partners, including neuroscientists (basic to clinical), entrepreneurs, investors, philanthropists, major industry stakeholders, and policymakers. Over the 1.5-day meeting, we asked this group to help identify the most important and practically relevant topics for discussion within neuroethics, to suggest individuals and organizations to be included in the summit and further planning efforts, and to help think through how to implement the resulting output in the real world. The findings from this meeting has been collated into a report that will guide future advisory sessions with key international and business stakeholders.
Topics
Topics of discussion for the BrainMind Neuroethics Summit will be focused on practical guidelines around neurotechnology and science likely to significantly impact human beings in the next ten years. In the effort to advance neuroscience for the benefit of humanity, we will look closely at the intersections among neuroscience, technology, brains, and minds with respect to such areas as memory and memory editing, narrative identity, psychological continuity, agency, moral responsibility and legal culpability, brain computer interfaces, mind-reading, embryo selection and genome editing for cognitive ability or other mental traits, boundaries between normal variation and mental illness, and ethical considerations for both philanthropic and commercial investment in research that touches these neuroethical issues.
Our Approach
Experts have suggested that the neuroscience community (and scientists in general) tend to associate the term “ethics” with restrictive regulatory oversight, leading to avoidance of the subject. BrainMind’s neuroethics initiative will not focus on restricting innovation, nor will it revisit long-discussed bioethics issues concerning the brain, such as nonhuman primate research limitations and protections for human subjects. The health of the intellectual endeavor depends upon taking special care with terms like “governance” as this type of language tends to alienate the groups we hope to engage. Regulatory matters have been and continue to be ably handled by bioethicists and IRBs in consultation with experts such as those serving on our national advisory board.
Outcomes
The vision of the BrainMind neuroethics initiative is to create an active forum for deep discussion on neuroethics across traditionally siloed disciplines, connecting neuroethicists with neuroscientists, policymakers, and private sector stakeholders, as well as philanthropists and the broader community. Small multi-sectoral advisory meetings will build trust and a shared vocabulary across professional communities. This collaborative discourse will empower BrainMind ecosystem members who have little exposure to neuroethics to engage with their work with a healthy understanding of its potential impact on society.
A planned virtual roundtable series to follow the Advisory Committee meeting in 2020 will yield significant insights that will shape the agenda for the large Asilomar Summit.
First Neuroethics Advisory Committee
