Towards a future that preserves the benefits of neurotechnology for all | MIT News

As advanced medical technologies move closer to invading consumer markets, the need for oversight in safe use should increase. What may start as a sensory implant to aid in communication may become a device used to probe a person’s deepest thoughts.

Fascinated by the far-reaching benefits and risks of neural implants, Rachel Sava, a PhD candidate in the Harvard-MIT Program in Health Sciences and Technology, explores how a life-changing medical device can become a surveillance tool for companies and government agencies in her winning submission, “Superintelligence, Superinture of Computation of the Year,” for Fourintiture Envision.

Sava’s idea was inspired by an internship at IBM, where he worked on a project with the PACE Center in London. “The consultant on this project was Kevin Brown, who designed one of the first brain implants – an EEG-based system he built for a colleague who had suffered a stroke that left him with lock-in syndrome,” he said. “It is this population of patients whose body has become an unreliable vehicle that inspired me to write about neuroprostheses six years later.”

Sava explains that research and application are currently “in full neurotechnology.” Using examples such as companies that take advantage of neural implants to monitor mental productivity, or authorities that impose public “thought crimes,” Sava said that as this technology reaches the consumer market, there is a real fear that what started as a transformative medical tool could evolve into a more dystopian use.

Presented by Social and Ethical Responsibilities of Computing (SERC), a cross-campus initiative of the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing, in collaboration with the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences and with support from MAC3 Philanthropies, the competition invites MIT students to identify, in 3,000 words or less, the most positive impact in the field of technology. Students are encouraged to explore practical technology deployments while considering potential risks and ethical concerns. All submissions were eligible for cash prizes with the top prize set at $10,000.

During a live awards ceremony hosted by Caspar Hare, former SERC director and professor of philosophy, who established the award in 2023, the three finalists each gave a 20-minute presentation about their ideas and took questions from a panel of judges and audience members.

“SERC and the sponsors who make this award possible every year ask us, the next generation of scientists: ‘what world do you want to see?’ I think you should take the time to ask yourself the same,” said Sava. And if, as it happened to me, the feeling grows strong enough to inspire further action – then you must give yourself permission to examine it as deeply as you do your other academic work.”

Each year, the Computing Future Vision Award asks students to look beyond technological advances and consider the societal benefits and costs of their work from the start. Since its inception, the competition has attracted undergraduate and graduate students from a variety of disciplines.

“This year’s submissions were amazing and included essays on brain-computer interactions, AI and religion, AI for scientific discovery, achieving efficiency in the power grid, and much more,” said Brian Hedden, SERC associate director and professor of philosophy, who holds a position in the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing Engineering and Department of Computer Science. “They show the breadth and depth of thinking going on at MIT about the social and ethical implications of technology.”

Nikos Trichakis, SERC associate director and JC Penney Professor of Management, adds “what’s most impressive about these stories is the breadth of thought they demonstrate: students move across medicine, neurotechnology, law, ethics, and social institutions, while keeping the human organization at the center. What it should do.”

In addition to awarding Sava the grand prize of $10,000, the judges identified two runners-up for $5,000 each: Cordiana Cozier, a PhD candidate in the Department of Chemistry, for her paper on the use of AI as a cognitive defense for public defenders; and Strahinja Janjusevic, graduate student in the Technology and Policy Program at the Institute for Data, Systems, and Society, for her presentation on agency and identity in the field of neural artificial intelligence. The judges also named four honorable mentions, each receiving a $500 cash prize.