The NeuroRight Arcades
Neuro-wearables and BCIs (Brain-Computer-Interfaces) are already here, and soon they will be everywhere. Because innovation is moving faster than the social and ethical frameworks around it, researchers at Columbia University have developed 5 NeuroRights: Mental Privacy, Personal Identity, Free Will, Equal Access to Mental Augmentation and Protection Against Algorithmic Biases.
The NeuroRights Initiative has proposed a kind of Hippocratic Oath, similar to that taken by doctors around the world in their commitment to protect their patients, but applied to companies. The aim is to secure a commitment to ensure that digital advances do not interfere with neurorights and this has focused on the acceptance of such an oath by the world’s leading technology companies.
Inspired by and based on these NeuroRights, Roel Heremans and his team are designing a series of five interactive installations to make each NeuroRight tangible for participants. They want participants to explore unasked questions about the future of our NeuroRights in a world where BCIs are ubiquitous.
Wearing a real-time BCI headphone in front of a custom made Arcade Machine, participants will be guided through an aesthetic experience where their mental state is transparent and malleable. With this, the team hopes to evoke a visceral reaction so participants feel the need for NeuroRights on a personal level.
The five installations were developed together with a team of neuroscientists from KU Leuven and Howest — Digital Arts and Entertainment Kortrijk during residencies at and with support by Ars Electronica Futurelab, Kunstenwerkplaats Brussel, Werktank Leuven, IKOB Eupen and C‑Takt Pelt. Interactive Design by Tyrell, BCI software by Yuhan Zhang, Thai Duong Truong and Maarten Francq, Neurologial advice by Chie Nakatani and Cees van Leeuwen, Artistic Advice by Emanuele Dainotti and Evan Cole, Arcade Design by Rudi van de Kerkhof
With the support of Flanders, state of the Arts.
Pictures by Roel Heremans