Meet the Expert VI

Prof. Judy Illes, Ph.D.

Brain-Computer Interface Research

Ethical Responsibilities in Studying and Reporting on Experimental Advances

The development of brain-computer interfaces (BCI) is an increasingly popular area of research that resides at the intersection of neuroscience and engineering. As this transdisciplinary field progresses into research with human subjects, it also raises novel ethical questions about the purpose, meaning, and implications of computational interventions into the human brain. At an even more basic level, ethical progress in this field depends on a solid understanding and implementation of informed consent. In this seminar, we have discussed evidence of, and possible responses to, the absence of attention to informed consent, rationales and critical reflection on ethical issues in BCI research.

Judy Illes is an internationally renowned scholar at the University of British Columbia where she holds a chair in Neurology as well as the Canada Research Chair in Neuroethics. Furthermore, she is Director of the National Core for Neuroethics at the University of British Columbia. She is co-founder and Governing Board Member of the International Neuroethics Society and a member of the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives.

Her main research areas are ethical, legal, social and policy challenges in the field between neurosciences and biomedical ethics.