A Practical Approach to Identifying Ethical and Social Problems During Research and Development: A Model for a National Research Project of Brain-Machine Interface

Abstract

In spite of growing interest in neuroethics, the process of research and development (R&D) is not focused enough on the context of ethical, legal, and social issues. These processes present a unique and largely overlooked opportunity to integrate ethical and societal considerations into interactions with these technologies. We implemented a research ethics consultation during the R&D phase of Japan's national project for brain-machine interfaces; our goal was to capture the ethical and social concerns of researchers in the early stages of R&D. Furthermore, we analyzed the project's structure and found two specific features related to the researchers' ethical and social concerns: (1) the segmented structure of the project and (2) the nested structure of the project. We argue that this insight has the potential to provide neuroethics with a better understanding of R&D as well as more effective intervention strategies.

Development of a Culture-Based Civics Learning Model

“…Data obtained through questionnaires, documentation, and interviews in accordance with the research problems. Product design stage by developing research instruments [11]. The research instrument was made with expert validation first.…”

East Asian perspective of responsible research and innovation in neurotechnology

“…As pointed out earlier, since the introduction of neuroethics, Japanese neurotechnology stakeholders have become aware of the ethical concerns and importance of developing rules regarding BCIs. Thus, research studies on incidental findings ( Fujita et al, 2014 , Seki et al, 2009 ), consultations on human research using BCIs ( Mizushima and Sakura, 2012 , Sakura and Mizushima, 2010 ), ethical concerns in the application of decoded neurofeedback ( Nakazawa et al, 2016 ) and guideline for the domestic research project member institutions developments ( https://neuro-elsi.jp/template-web/wp-content/uploads/72625360b8449e662063fc6b2ae162f5.pdf in Japanese) have been conducted in neurotechnology-relevant research projects. Other research groups conducted surveys on ethical concerns in neuroscience research ( Nakazawa et al, 2022 ; https://www.jst.go.jp/erato/ikegaya/elsi/survey-report.pdf in Japanese) and international trend analysis on the scope of application of deep brain stimulation to neuropsychiatric disorders, its implementation criteria, and ethical considerations ( Takagi, 2012 ).…”

ELSI is Our Next Battlefield

“…Fujiki and Macer 1992;Kato 1995Kato , 1996Kato and Takaku 1996), but their activities were short-lived. ELSI persisted in genomics research as an exercise of communicating its purposes and achievements to the public, but was not institutionalized in the country as a program for S&T governance in the way it was originally conceived in the United States, until at least 2003 when the Human Genome Project ended (Itoh and Kato 2005;Mizushima and Sakura 2012).…”

“…This 3rd S&T Basic Plan, covering the period between 2006 and 2010, devoted a short section to ELSI, discussing it as potential problems that ought to be addressed and resolved in order for S&T to be "supported by society and the public" (Cabinet Office 2006, p. 60). It was also during this five-year period that small research groups focusing on ELSI were formed within largescale national projects in biomedical research, firstly in neuroscience and then in regenerative medicine (Mizushima and Sakura 2012;Sakura and Mizushima 2010).…”

“…Thereafter, ELSI became framed in the country's policy framework as "problems" that ought to be resolved if society is to benefit from advancements in S&T (see Mizushima and Sakura 2012). The section on ELSI was expanded in the 4th S&T Basic Plan, published in 2011.…”