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Increasing brain-computer interface media depictions: pressing ethical concerns
journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-20, 06:44 authored by Frederic GilbertFrederic Gilbert, Pham, C, Viana, JNM, Gillam, WThis article explores how brain-computer interfaces (BCI) are depicted in the English-speaking media, especially by news outlets. We use the FACTICA database to analyze depictions of BCIs from the first time the term appeared in the media (1993) up until 31 December 2017. We found a sample of over 4064 articles on BCIs. Results indicate that 76.91% of articles portrayed BCI positively, including 25.27% that were overly positive, while 26.64 % of the total articles contain claims about BCI-enabled enhancement. In contrast, 1.6% of articles had a negative tone and only 2.7% of articles flag issues explicitly related to ethical concerns surrounding BCI technology. We propose: 1) A proactive effort by the scientific community to push-out to the media stories focused on the limits and actual capabilities of BCIs, separating science from science fiction; 2) More influence should be brought to bear on the technological risks and process of informed consent.
Funding
Australian Research Council
History
Publication title
Brain-Computer InterfacesVolume
6Pagination
49-70ISSN
2326-263XDepartment/School
College Office - College of Arts, Law and EducationPublisher
Taylor & FrancisPlace of publication
United KingdomRights statement
© 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis GroupRepository Status
- Restricted