Brain pioneers as the face of the study: exploring what counts as recognition for participants in implantable BCI studies

Andrew I. Brown – Postdoctoral Scholar, Philosophy, University of Washington; Sara Goering – University of Washington

Abstract: Brain pioneers – research participants in long-term, first-in-human trials of implantable neural devices, like brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) and deep brain stimulation (DBS) – are a small but expanding, and often highly visible, group critical to the success of the emerging field. Many brain pioneers appear in media reports that often glowingly describe their contributions to advancement in science. They often take on public speaking roles in a variety of settings – interviews, conferences, schools – to tell their stories and raise awareness of this new, exciting field. One recent example of this is the media storm around Noland Arbaugh, the first human participant in Neuralink’s implanted BCI study. Arbaugh was reportedly interviewed over 24 times in the first few months after receiving his neural implant (Sheriff 2024). In this presentation, we consider what kind of moral obligations researchers may have in recognizing and supporting this important public facing work. Is having the opportunity to be the public face of a study a form of recognition? Or might it be a kind of exploitation? Is it better understood as work? Following Goering et al.’s work on moral entanglements (2024), we also consider these questions in contexts where participants continue to take on public speaking roles after exiting the study. Using a few examples where brain pioneers have spoken in public roles, paired with qualitative data from interviews we conducted with brain pioneers and their support partners, we explore the moral contours of being the public face of a neural device study.

Keywords: BCI, moral obligations, research participants