The Neuroethics Program at Emory University

02/21/2022

“Two of the main ethical considerations suggest that clinical care and research should be separated and that physicians should prioritize their roles as clinicians over their roles as researchers” | Daily Bruin

UCLA ethicists and neuroscientists recently collaborated with other researchers across the country to create a list of principles for ethical invasive brain research. Intracranial research uses invasive techniques inside the skull in order to answer fundamental questions about the brain and help pro...

12/31/2021

“Two researchers at Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) have come up with a new theory of consciousness…a state that is tied to complex cognitive operations -- and not as a passive basic state that automatically prevails when we are awake.” | ScienceDaily

A new theory of consciousness provides experimental access to the study of this phenomenon. Not just in humans.

11/19/2021

“What if, instead, you could create synthetic neurological data—artificially computer-generated data—that could “stand in” for data obtained from the real world? Enter generative adversarial networks.”

Synthetic neurological data created using generative adversarial networks could speed up training of brain-computer interfaces, new study finds.

11/12/2021

“The point of the bot is to help AI to work better with humans…‘We have to teach AI ethical values because AI interacts with humans. And to do that, it needs to be aware what values human have’” | The Guardian

Delphi, an online AI bot, promises to answer any moral question users pose. We put it to the test

10/26/2021

"A future where potentially millions of pigs are raised to harvest their organs for humans raises significant ethical questions. “Pigs aren’t spare parts and should never be used as such just because humans are too self-centered to donate their bodies to patients desperate for organ transplants,” the organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, said in a statement.

Advocates for xenotransplantation argue the potential benefits of vastly expanding the organ supply are worth any potential harm done to pigs."

For the first time, a pig organ was successfully attached to a human patient. It’s a step toward vastly increasing the supply of organs.

10/17/2021

“Neuroscientists at MIT’s McGovern Institute for Brain Research have homed in on key brain circuits that help guide decision-making under conditions of uncertainty…The findings…could help researchers develop treatments for schizophrenia and related conditions, whose symptoms may be at least partly due to affected individuals’ inability to effectively gauge uncertainty.”

MIT neuroscientists have homed in on key brain circuits that help guide decision-making under conditions of uncertainty. The findings could help researchers develop treatments for schizophrenia, whose symptoms may be at least partly due to affected individuals’ inability to effectively gauge uncer...

10/07/2021

“The amendment to the Chilean Constitution ‘is the first law in the world on neuro-rights, and it is the first step in a legislative ecosystem that will regulate artificial intelligence and neuro-technologies.’”

Chile became the first country in the world to protect neuro-rights after the Chamber of Deputies approved Wednesday an amendment to the Chilean Constitution. The bill is expected to be signed into la...

10/03/2021

“A team of Korean researchers developed a novel multifunctional brain interface that can simultaneously register neuronal activity and deliver liquid drugs to the implantation site.”

Although measuring the electrical activity of neurons is useful in many disciplines, making durable neural interfacing brain chip implants with negligible adverse effects has proven challenging. Now, scientists have developed a flexible multifunctional neural interface that can not only register loc...

09/27/2021

“Taking into account energy-conserving constraints may drive us towards new and creative innovations in AI…by pursuing AI use cases in the environmental space, AI can remain at the cutting edge, becoming a sustainable technology of the future and a major asset in the protection of our global climate.”

With the right approach, AI can become a sustainable technology and a key tool in mitigating the worst impacts of climate change.

09/23/2021

“If they are successful, Apple and its partners could improve the detection of the conditions, which affect tens of millions of people world-wide. But the extent of user tracking that may be required could spark privacy concerns.”

Apple is working on technology to help diagnose depression and cognitive decline, aiming for tools that could expand the scope of its burgeoning health portfolio.

09/19/2021

“The guidelines highlight the need for physicians to recognize patient autonomy and the key role played by family caregivers. And they require doctors to acknowledge the need to balance independence and risk as they discuss care choices.”

The guidelines highlight the need for physicians to recognize patient autonomy and the key role played by family caregivers. And they require doctors to acknowledge the need to balance independence and risk as they discuss care choices.

09/14/2021

Today on The Neuroethics Blog is a post by The Neuroethics Blog team, entitled “From the Blog Team: A Thank You and a Goodbye.” This is one of the final posts the Blog will be publishing before it retires. Special thank you to our readers and contributors for your continued support throughout the years.

"Our writers spanned all levels of training and worked tirelessly to bring to the community the most up-to-date, hot topics in the field. Internally, the shape of the Blog changed constantly as trainees graduated and new ones joined in their places. A Copy Team would read, edit, and revise every piece, and a Layout Team would prepare each one for publication."

http://www.theneuroethicsblog.com/2021/09/from-blog-team-thank-you-and-goodbye.html?m=1