Securing the Exocortex: A Twenty-First Century Cybernetics Challenge

An exocortex is a wearable (or implanted) computer used to augment a brain's biological high-level cognitive processes and inform a user's decisions and actions. Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) are a special type of exocortex used to interact with the environment via neural signals. Uses for BCI range from medical applications and rehabilitation to operation of assistive devices. They can also be used for marketing, gaming, and for entertainment, where BCIs are used to provide users with a more personalized experience. BCI-enabled technology carries great potential to improve and enhance the quality of human lives. This technology, however, is not without risk. The article addresses a specific class of privacy issues, brain spyware, shown to be feasible against currently available non-invasive BCIs. To help us understand the severity of potential privacy threats when BCIs are being used, and to inform development of possible prevention strategies, we turn to Value Sensitive Design, a systematic approach to accounting for human values in technology design. Influenced by Value Sensitive Design (VSD) and by Norbert Wiener's computer ethics work, we propose a set of principles regarding appropriate use of exocortex.