Ethics Tools for Neuro-Entrepreneurs

Ensuring Safety, Equity, Autonomy, and Privacy for Neurotechnology Startups, Partners, and End-Users

Through BrainMind’s collaboration with Dr. Karen Rommelfanger at Ningen Neuroethics Co-Lab and IDUN Technologies, we are debuting five simple tools that can be used as best practice guidelines for any company or startup in NeuroTech.

It is time to promote transparency, accountability, and responsible conduct while redefining ethical decision-making.

Overview of the Five Tools:

Download the Tools Here

Use these tools as best practice guidelines, personalizing the specifics to your own product and organization structure.

Click on the image to access IDUN’s Neuroethics Toolkit for guidance on the editable templates. Make sure to copy the Google Document Template to have full edit access.

Ethics Charter

Guide leadership in every day decision making and raise team awareness and alignment around ethical commitments.

Download IDUN’s Sample Template

Ethics Advisory Board

Avoid working in an ecochamber and get outside help with assessments and recommending action plans.

Download IDUN’s Sample Template

Acceptable Use Policy

Hold partners and customers accountable for ethical use of your products and data.

Download IDUN’s Sample Template

Partner(ship) Rubric

Decide who to work with and proactively explore potential for misuse with partners.

Download IDUN’s Sample Template

Responsibility Map

Delineates duties and ethical responsibilities of various stakeholders, ensuring accountability and promoting ethical decision-making.

Download IDUN’s Sample Template

Neuroethics Toolkit

A Closer Look into Each Tool

The Ethics Charter

Brain-computer interfaces hold tremendous potential to improve the quality of life, but also come with potential for misuse. In the rapidly evolving technological landscape, it is essential to protect the privacy and autonomy of our end-users and customers

The ethics charter raises team awareness and alignment around ethical commitments and guides, establishing informed decisions in an evolving regulatory space and advising on how to refine a company’s ethics toolkits. This Charter serves as the basis of internal decision making for Company Strategy, Partnerships, and the Ethics Advisory Board.

The Ethics Advisory Board

The Ethics Advisory Board (EAB) assists leadership for interim assessments and recommends action plans, providing expert guidance and advice on ethical issues related to a companies operations, products, and services. The Board works collaboratively with the company's leadership and team, advising on how to address ethical tensions through periodic workshops.

By addressing current and upcoming topics in the development, deployment, and use of a company’s products and devices, the Board ensures that the ethical commitments described in the Ethics Charter are being met.

The Acceptable Use Policy

This Acceptable Use Policy ("AUP") sets forth the guidelines for the use of a company’s products, services, and platforms by its Partners, Customers, and End-Users.

By holding partners accountable for ethical applications and use, this policy provides an in-depth understanding of acceptable and unacceptable activities within a company’s domain. That is, the AUP adds another layer of protection to the legal contract.

The Partner Rubric

The Partner Rubric clarifies decision-making on partnerships and helps to proactively explore potential for misuse with partners, addressing essential questions such as:

Purpose: How does the product improve ‘wellbeing’? How is the alignment on company vision and mission?
Stakeholder interests: Which stakeholders have interest in the collaboration and what are the power dynamics amongst them?
End-user empowerment: What measures need to be in place to ensure voluntariness, autonomy and/or agency?
Data management: What privacy considerations will arise and how will they be addressed regarding data collection, processing, access, and dissemination?
Misuse: Is there potential to violate the acceptable use policy?

The Responsibility Map

The Responsibility Map distributes sustainable ethics practice across the organization’s teams. By outlining a firm’s management and governance arrangements, the Responsibility Map formalizes responsibilities for projects, processes, and decision-making.

IDUN Technologies

As a neurotechnology company, IDUN Technologies has played a significant role in distinguishing high standards of neuroethics by prioritizing ethical considerations in the development and deployment of its neurotechnology. The company strives to create technology that enhances quality of life while maintaining the highest ethical standards.

For more information, you can visit their Ethics Charter page here.

Their Ethical Commitments

Enabling the “Internet of Humans,” IDUN prioritizes a world with connected cognitive and emotional intelligence to promote overall wellbeing. Holding themself and their partners to the highest ethical standards, IDUN’s goal is to build trust and transparency with our stakeholders and to create products that have a positive impact on the world.

Individuals have the right to choose how their brain data is collected, stored, and used.
IDUN's device will only be used with the explicit consent of their customers and ensure complete control over one's personal data.
Brain data is highly personal and sensitive.
IDUN ensures the confidentiality of all data collected, where only authorized personnel will have access to it.
IDUN will provide clear and concise information to customers and end-users about the device's capabilities, the data that will be collected, and how it will be used.
IDUN will use the data collected only for the purpose for which it was intended and with the end-users and customers' explicit consent. We will also be transparent about how the data is used and who has access to it.
IDUN will take all necessary measures to avoid any potential harm to the end-users and customers, ensuring that the device is safe, and that the data collected is not used to discriminate or stigmatize any individuals or groups.
IDUN takes responsibility for the ethical use of their device and the data collected by it.
They will regularly review their policies and procedures to ensure that they align with our ethical standards.

Special thanks to Dr. Karen Rommelfanger at the Ningen Neuroethics Co-Lab for spending many months of hard work in co-creating these tools.

Karen Rommelfanger, PhD

Dr. Karen S. Rommelfanger is a distinguished neuroscientist and one of the most influential voices in responsible neuroinnovation. She is the Founder and Director of the nonprofit Institute of Neuroethics, dedicated to advancing ethical practices in neuroscience. Additionally, she founded Ningen Strategy, the world's first neuroethics strategy and consulting firm, setting new standards for ethical considerations in neurotechnology.

Dr. Rommelfanger has held key roles in international neuroethics initiatives, including co-chairing the Neuroethics Workgroup of the International Brain Initiative and partnering with the OECD and the Council of Europe on their translational efforts in responsible innovation in neurotechnology. Her extensive experience and leadership have made significant contributions to the field.

A passionate advocate for broad engagement in neuroethics, Dr. Rommelfanger is one of BrainMind’s earliest and closest advisors on our neuroethics initiative. She has helped engage and learn from over 100 advisors across academia and the private sector, as BrainMind prepares to showcase and encourage the widespread adoption of practical neuroethics tools at Asilomar in 2025.

Learn More:
NNIC: https://neuroethicslab.com
IoNx: https://instituteofneuroethics.org
Ningen: https://ningenstrategy.com