Beck Savannah, Liberman Yuliya, Dubljević Veljko
College of Humanities and Social Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA.
College of Liberal Arts, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19122, USA.
Brain Sci. 2024 Dec 14;14(12):1255. doi: 10.3390/brainsci14121255.
BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) are a rapidly developing technology that captures and transmits brain signals to external sources, allowing the user control of devices such as prosthetics. BCI technology offers the potential to restore physical capabilities in the body and change how we interact and communicate with computers and each other. While BCI technology has existed for decades, recent developments have caused the technology to generate a host of ethical issues and discussions in both academic and public circles. Given that media representation has the potential to shape public perception and policy, it is necessary to evaluate the space that these issues take in public discourse.
We conducted a rapid review of media articles in English discussing ethical issues of BCI technology from 2013 to 2024 as indexed by LexisNexis. Our searches yielded 675 articles, with a final sample containing 182 articles. We assessed the themes of the articles and coded them based on the ethical issues discussed, ethical frameworks, recommendations, tone, and application of technology.
Our results showed a marked rise in interest in media articles over time, signaling an increased focus on this topic. The majority of articles adopted a balanced or neutral tone when discussing BCIs and focused on ethical issues regarding privacy, autonomy, and regulation.
Current discussion of ethical issues reflects growing news coverage of companies such as Neuralink, and reveals a mounting distrust of BCI technology. The growing recognition of ethical considerations in BCI highlights the importance of ethical discourse in shaping the future of the field.
背景/目标：脑机接口（BCI）是一项快速发展的技术，它能够捕捉脑信号并将其传输到外部设备，使用户能够控制诸如假肢等设备。BCI技术具有恢复身体机能以及改变我们与计算机和彼此之间交互与通信方式的潜力。尽管BCI技术已经存在了几十年，但最近的发展使得该技术在学术界和公众领域引发了一系列伦理问题和讨论。鉴于媒体报道有可能塑造公众认知和政策，有必要评估这些问题在公共话语中所占的空间。
我们对LexisNexis索引的2013年至2024年期间讨论BCI技术伦理问题的英文媒体文章进行了快速回顾。我们的搜索共得到675篇文章，最终样本包含182篇文章。我们评估了文章的主题，并根据所讨论的伦理问题、伦理框架、建议、语气和技术应用对其进行编码。
我们的结果显示，随着时间的推移，媒体文章的关注度显著上升，这表明对该主题的关注有所增加。大多数文章在讨论BCI时采用了平衡或中立的语气，并关注隐私、自主性和监管等伦理问题。
目前对伦理问题的讨论反映出诸如Neuralink等公司的新闻报道越来越多，同时也揭示了对BCI技术日益增长的不信任。对BCI伦理考量的日益重视凸显了伦理话语在塑造该领域未来方面的重要性。
