Big Brain Data and the Future of Work

The work­shop pro­du­ced two project ideas that will explore the use of brain–com­pu­ter in­ter­faces (BCIs) from both ethical and user cen­te­red angles. The meeting was in­itia­ted by tech­no­lo­gy mar­ke­ting re­se­ar­cher Alex­an­der Kies of RWTH Aachen Uni­ver­si­ty and funded by the Wübben Stif­tung Wis­sen­schaft through its Sandpit pro­gram­me.

BCIs record brain ac­tivi­ty to assess co­gni­ti­ve and emo­tio­nal states and are be­co­m­ing in­crea­singly im­portant for mo­ni­to­ring work­place safety. The group the­re­fo­re focused on stan­dar­di­sa­ti­on, re­gu­lato­ry demands, and the impact of BCI tools in real work en­vi­ron­ments. The in­ter­ac­tive format helped bring tog­e­ther a wide range of per­spec­tives. Par­ti­ci­pants from Belgium, Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada con­tri­bu­t­ed ex­per­ti­se in eco­no­mics, so­cio­lo­gy, bio­sci­ence and tech­no­lo­gy studies, and neu­ro­sci­ence. Prac­ti­cal in­sights from experts in in­dus­try, policy con­sul­ting, and think tanks were es­pe­ci­al­ly va­lu­able.

Two project teams will carry the work forward. “The Good Life and Beyond with Neu­ro­tech” will examine the ethical im­pli­ca­ti­ons of the tech­no­lo­gy. “De­si­gning a User Cen­te­red Pathway for Current and Future Users of BCI Tools” will focus on market ad­op­ti­on and user needs for broader im­ple­men­ta­ti­on.

A Sandpit is an idea work­shop that brings tog­e­ther re­se­ar­chers and prac­ti­tio­ners from dif­fe­rent fields. The foun­da­ti­on has already funded three such work­shops, with more planned. Further in­for­ma­ti­on about the funding pro­gram­me can be found here.