The Ethics of Brain Hacking

1. The Ethics of Brain Hacking
By Tara Leonard

2. What Is Brain
Hacking?
 Simply put, brain hacking is
neurostimulation with the primary goal of
increasing learning, treating a disorder, or
enhancing an ability.
 Examples include transcranial electrical
stimulation (tES), deep brain stimulation,
and chip implants
 For the purpose of this presentation, I will
focus on transcranial direct-current
stimulation (tDCS), a subset of tES.
The device pictured on the right is the fo.cus Go Flow tDCS Brain
Stimulator. https://www.foc.us/focus-go-flow-tdcs-brain-stimulator

3. Who is promoting
and selling tDCS?
Thync
 “We are a team of
neurobiologists, neuroscientists,
and consumer electronic
specialists from institutions
including MIT, Stanford, Harvard
who are experts in our fields.”
Claims
 “Using Thync along with a
healthy lifestyle can lower
anxiety.”
(Thync)
Thync, a personal tDCS appliance

4. Who is promoting
and selling tDCS?
focus
 Private company headquartered in
London, UK
 Produced the first commercial tDCS
headset, foc.us Gamer
Claims
 The focus Gamer headset claimed to
increase working memory for
“hardcore gamers.”
 The Edge “helps ultra-athletes
increase their endurance.”
 “Foc.us v2 is a swiss army knife of
brain stimulation technologies.”
(Focus)
The foc.us Go Flow, a personal tDCS appliance

5. Supporters say tDCS:
 Improves learning and skill acquisition
 Decreases pain in chronic pain conditions
 Enhances language learning and abilities
 Improves symptoms of depression
 Improves sleep quality
 Improves symptoms and task performance in
ADHD patients
 Improves recovery in stroke patients
 Reduces risk-taking behavior
 Improves verbal reaction times
 Improves working memory
 Improves visual attention
 Reduces cravings
 Improves symptoms of Parkinson’s
(SelfHacked, 2017)

6. Medical research has
shown that tDCS
can:
 Enhance US military
personnel’s mental capabilities
and “wake up” tired
servicemembers. (Sample,
2016)
 Halve training time for US
military drone pilots. (Fields,
2011)
 Decrease stroke recovery time.
(Moore, 2016)

7. All of this sounds pretty cool.
What’s the problem?
In a letter from 43 leading academics, tDCS DIY
users were asked to consider the following:
 Stimulation affects more of the brain than a
user may think.
 Stimulation interacts with ongoing brain
activity, so what a user does during tDCS
changes tDCS effects.
 Enhancement of some cognitive abilities may
come at the cost of others.
 Changes in brain activity (intended or not)
may last longer than a user may think.
 Small differences in tDCS parameters can
have a big effect.
 tDCS effects are highly variable across
different people.
 The risk/benefit ratio is different for treating
diseases versus enhancing function.
(Wurzman, Hamilton, Pascual-Leone, & Fox, 2016)

8. Ethical issues with brain hacking
Current devices are not regulated by
the US Food and Drug Administration,
therefore, there are no standards for
commercial tDCS products available in
today’s market.
Most tDCS device manufacturers have
not put their products through
rigorous testing under controlled,
scientific conditions. Nothing is in
place to stop manufacturers from
making claims that may or may not be
true. Nothing prevents manufacturers
from non-disclosure of potential side
effects.
(Strickland, 2016)
Currently, the tDCS devices discussed in slides 3 and 4 do not connect
to a computer or the Internet. focus is looking to change that, however,
with their new EEG Dev Kit, which includes WiFi and IoT capabilities. This
presents more potential for ethical issues including:
 Privacy
 Confidentiality
 Personal security
 Psychological distress
 Physical harm
 Diminished agency
 Uncertain personhood
 Uncertain moral responsibility
(Ienca & Haselager, 2016)

9. References
 Fields, R. D. (n.d.). Amping Up Brain Function: Transcranial Stimulation Shows Promise in Speeding Up Learning. Retrieved September 23, 2017, from
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/amping-up-brain-function/
 Focus. (n.d.). About Us. Retrieved September 23, 2017, from https://www.foc.us/about-us
 Ienca, M., & Haselager, P. (2016). Hacking the brain: brain–computer interfacing technology and the ethics of neurosecurity. Ethics and Information
Technology,18(2), 117-129. doi:10.1007/s10676-016-9398-9
 Konnikova, M. (2015, May 19). Hacking the Brain. Retrieved September 23, 2017, from https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/06/brain-
hacking/392084/
 Mathews, L. (2017, April 10). A Malware Outbreak Is Bricking Insecure IoT Devices. Retrieved September 24, 2017, from
https://www.forbes.com/sites/leemathews/2017/04/10/a-malware-outbreak-is-bricking-insecure-iot-devices/#35cf275e29a3
 Moore, S. K. (2016, March 16). TDCS Brain Hacking Tech Boosts Stroke Recovery. Retrieved September 23, 2017, from https://spectrum.ieee.org/the-human-
os/biomedical/devices/tdcs-brain-hacking-tech-boosts-stroke-recovery
 Sample, I. (2016, November 07). US military successfully tests electrical brain stimulation to enhance staff skills. Retrieved September 23, 2017, from
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/nov/07/us-military-successfully-tests-electrical-brain-stimulation-to-enhance-staff-skills
 SelfHacked. (2017, September 14). 13 Health Benefits of tDCS: A Comprehensive Review. Retrieved September 23, 2017, from https://selfhacked.com/blog/tdcs-
benefits/
 Strickland, E. (2016, August 31). Brain-Zapping Gadgets Need Regulation, Say Scientists and (Some) Manufacturers. Retrieved September 23, 2017, from
https://spectrum.ieee.org/the-human-os/biomedical/devices/brainzapping-gadgets-need-regulation-say-scientists-and-some-manufacturers
 The Saint John of God Clinical Research Centre. (n.d.). Transcranial Electrical Stimulation (tES). Retrieved September 23, 2017, from
http://www.cognitiveneuroscience.it/metodiche/stimolazione-elettrica-transcranica-tes/?lang=en
 Thync. (n.d.). THYNCTEAM. Retrieved September 23, 2017, from http://www.thync.com/team
 Wurzman, R., Hamilton, R. H., Pascual-Leone, A., & Fox, M. D. (2016). An open letter concerning do-it-yourself users of transcranial direct current
stimulation. Annals of Neurology,80(1), 1-4. doi:10.1002/ana.24689

10. My opinion on brain hacking
As someone who deals with conditions that reportedly can be helped through the use of tDCS, I have high hopes for the future
of the industry. However, that statement comes with a few caveats:
 The human brain is an incredibly complex system, and there are many things even modern science does not understand
about it. Because of this, choosing to modify your own neurons without complete knowledge of potential long-term effects is
reckless and irresponsible. Granted, I believe in a person’s choice to do with one’s self as they please; however, without
complete knowledge and understanding of the potentials involved in brain hacking, a major part of decision making – being
informed – is removed.
 The current marketing methods of tDCS are reminiscent of those used by diet pills. Many of the manufacturer websites I
visited included a link to a page called “Science,” as in the science behind the product. These pages had videos and
illustrations of how the brain gets zapped by their product. I chuckled at a few of them because it was like watching
infomercials on late night TV, just with a higher budget and a better graphic designer.
 When WiFi capabilities are introduced to these types of devices, cybersecurity will become a very real threat. In current
Internet of Things (IoT) devices, hacking is already a very real issue. IoT devices have a notoriety for being insecure.
(Mathews, 2017) Now imagine that an IoT device is connected to your brain. Scary thought? For me, yes.
 Using the currently available devices without supervision of a neurospecialist is the equivalent of prescribing one’s own
prescription medications. I know that I do not have the knowledge or capability to doctor myself, and I imagine the majority
of the population does not either. Again, this falls into the category of making an uninformed choice.

11. Questions
If given the opportunity, would you try out one of these “brain hacking” devices?
Why or why not?
What do you view as the greatest ethical dilemma from the unregulated use
of “brain hacking” devices?