Dear Community,
Scheduled March 10-13, the Health & MedTech track has grown to be incredibly popular with SXSW attendees. For 2023, content in this track will cover everything from aging, data and FemTech to organ transplants and virtual care.
A relatively new area of focus at this year’s Health & MedTech track are brain computer interfaces, which will be explored in a session titled Hello World: Brain Computer Interfaces at Scale as well as in Superhuman: Meet The World’s First BCI Pioneers.
If BCIs are the future, then we asked a handful of SXSW speakers from a variety of tracks at the 2023 Conference to tell us if they are excited (or fearful) of what humanity will eventually become.
Abby Rakshit – F1® – Real World Impact on Transportation & Culture: Like with any revolutionary technology comes the double edged sword of progress and danger. For example, the work that companies like Neuralink and Synchron are developing has massive potential to change the lives of disabled individuals. However, the fact is that the high costs in the US medical system will probably make access to BCI applications a hurdle and the ongoing chip shortage will probably drive additional accessibility issues for initial stages of testing and development. Regulatory oversight will be highly paramount both for medical and consumer applications to make sure costs do not make it impossible for people who need this to access a better quality of life.
David Dylan-Thomas – Inclusive Design: A Bias-Informed Practice: I’m mostly excited because what little I know of the technology suggests that the trick is to build just enough of the artificial part so that the brain can do the rest (I’ve heard it described as building half of a bridge and the other side builds itself). What I love about this principle is (a) the idea that technology is only ever half of the solution and (b) the amazing resiliency and emergent creativity of the brain and body to adapt and grow to meet new situations.
Donald Harris – Developing the Next Generation of Game Industry Talent: The further and further we progress into the future the scarier it will be. If you went back to the 1920s and asked someone if they would be afraid to have all the world’s knowledge in their pocket on a device that could contact anyone on the planet, I am sure they would have found reasons to be afraid of that as well. On initial thought BCIs sound scary but I could imagine not only a path for better prosthetics but also paths for entertainment and ease of life. We have digital assistants now but having an assistant driven by my thoughts could be more enabling. So I guess you could say I am cautiously optimistic.
Imran Rehman – The Science of Great Teams: Brain-machine interfaces or the smart brain will pave the way for disruptive developments of organic-technical interaction. This excites me no end for the people it helps to live better lives. The only challenge? Creating environments where the soft/hard skills of an engineer, doctor and technician can flow into each other without them losing sight of the people they need to help.
Justin Felder – Neurodivergence in Tech Meet Up: I’m excited to learn more about this tech! Any advancement that has the potential to improve the quality of life for people with disabilities is worth exploring, and BCI fits that bill. Of course, there will undoubtedly be countless other applications as well – some some valid, some less than valid – so the real question is: how do we validate those applications to ensure that funding and research are heading in the right direction?
Liz Wiley – Come Discover the Tech Made in France Meet Up: I have been reading and re-reading Dune since the new movie, which makes me not as shocked by BCI advances. The series swings from anti-technology, where only humans exercise superhuman computer power (Mentats) for fear of “thinking machines,” to intimate connections of the physical human with technological devices. But the series’ message for me is one of hope in humanity. Regardless and in spite of technology and attitude shifts, humans as a race continue to be thoughtful about the self and soul and connection. So despite the changing times, I remain cautiously optimistic and curious rather than dismayed about such advances as BCI.
Meryl Evans – Watercooler to Headset? The Future of Workplaces: The potential of BCI is huge as it could be used as an assistive technology for people with disabilities. However, it raises too many questions related to privacy, ethics, and regulations that must be answered.
Ronaldo Lemos – Evolving Content Moderation: The Next 10 Years: BCIs will change the world for an unexpected reason. They must comply with data protection laws. As awkward as it might sound, individuals with an enhanced BCI brain will have to create their own data privacy policy as they interact with others. As you meet someone, you will have to accept that person’s “terms of use” and “data policy” before you engage in any data exchange (such as a conversation). Also, individuals will have to comply with data requests from courts, and from other people, as required by laws such as the GDPR in Europe. Finally, BCI’s are tools. And like any tool, it defines how it can be used by design. In other words, as we control them, they inevitably control us too.
Steve Rosenbaum – Social Media Town Hall: The challenge facing the next chapter in BCI is less about technology, and more about ethics. It’s impossible to talk about the current state of BCI’s without thinking about Neuralink and its founder Elon Musk. Ethical questions abound. Musk’s willingness to turn Twitter into a personal platform for wild political ramblings makes one wonder what he has in store for Neuralink. Musk in my cranium, no thanks. But even without Elon, the question of who sets limits, guidelines, and ethical frameworks for how a mind/machine interface looms large as AI zooms into the public conversation. Is it the realm of the FDA? If not the FDA, who should regulate implantable brain-computer devices?
Vickie Nauman – Music Licensing Beyond Web2: Most people read about this and immediately think of humanoids and scary computer chip brain implants that are reminiscent of replicants mingling among us. And I admit that is a bit frightening. But there are so many other uses for good of this technology including ALS and other brain+physical health disorders that could be alleviated. Like almost all kinds of AI, brain computer interfaces have a spectrum of potential use cases and there is an ethical and moral quandary of how the tech will be used and how it will be governed.
Make up your own mind on how brain computer interfaces will change society by attending these and other BCI focused sessions at SXSW. Register before end of the day on Saturday, March 4 to save on the walk-up rate. Discounts are always available for groups and students.
What a tale your thoughts could tell,
Hugh Forrest
Co-President / Chief Programming Officer
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