Neuroscience, Law, Psychology, and Beyond (Conference Series # IV)

Neurotechnologies from a Multidisciplinary Perspective

Istanbul, Kadir Has University, 16-17 December 2024

The term neurotechnologies denotes a wide range of devices and systems that interact with the nervous system by either recording or interfering with neural activity. These technologies have been in use for decades in medicine for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. The arms industry is another sector with a longstanding interest in neurotechnologies. Recent advances, however, have shown that neurotechnologies possess the potential to become assets in various domains of social life, suggesting their presence will likely extend beyond specific sectors.

Firstly, these technologies hold immense promise for enhancing human capabilities, both physically and cognitively. Scientific and commercial efforts to make neurotechnologies available for enhancement are regularly intensifying. Such a trend may lead to a future where the meaning of being ‘normal’ changes because of the widespread use of neurotechnologies. On the other hand, there is a growing concern that neurotechnologies could be used to monitor and manipulate brain activity. These concerns were first expressed as early as the end of the 1960s, but back then, the debate was based more on hypothetical claims and popular beliefs than solid scientific findings. Nowadays, however, we witness intense scientific research exploring neurotechnologies’ capacities for “mood reading” (though not yet “mind reading”) and for manipulating social behavior. Thus, there are now more solid grounds to fear that neurotechnologies may threaten a social order built on democratic principles.

Should we consider the prospect of neurotechnologies being used massively a threat or a blessing for human social organization? This conference aims to serve as a platform for multidisciplinary dialogue by opening the floor for a debate over the positive and negative aspects of neurotechnologies. The non-exhaustive list of topics that specialists will address in various panels and keynote speeches is as follows:

• Neurotechnologies and Human Agency: What is the potential of neurotechnologies to change the way humans perceive their own identity?
• Neurotechnologies and Diseases/Disabilities: What is the potential of neurotechnologies to overcome nervous system impairments, disabilities, and neurological diseases?
• Neurotechnologies and Human Rights: Are basic rights and liberties facing an unprecedented threat because of advances in neurotechnologies?
• Neurotechnologies and Law: What challenges do developments in neurotechnologies pose for legal systems?
• Neurotechnologies and Warfare: What is the potential of neurotechnologies to change the way humans wage war?
• Neurotechnologies and Social Equity: Will neurotechnologies be accessible to everyone and function without biases?