Since the end of the twentieth century, technological development has increasingly focussed on enhancing the human body. Biotechnology and medical technology are developing new applications that not only treat diseases but also improve the capabilities of healthy people. The human machine is being redesigned. This can be seen in the advances in neurotechnologies and the convergence with artificial intelligence.
Neurotechnologies refers to the development and application of devices that can directly access, analyse, observe, modify or simulate the structure and function of the human nervous system. These technologies promise significant improvements for people with diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's as well as mental illnesses and stroke rehabilitation. In addition to medical applications, there are also visions of enhancing human abilities, expanding consciousness and even merging mind and machine.
The prospect of enhancing human capabilities beyond natural limits raises critical constitutional, ethical, human rights and other social issues. The long-term effects are unknown and the dangers of potentially discriminatory, abusive or exploitative use of these technologies are great.
At the ‘Re-Engineering Human Nature’ event, these and other critical issues will be discussed with an interested audience and invited experts. The first panel will deal with ‘Human rights, ethics and safety of neurotechnologies’. Afterwards, film screenings from the BIO-FICTION Science Art Film Festival will provide inspiration for the second panel, which will deal with ‘Visions of the future of neurotechnologies’. With experts from various disciplines, we will offer a comprehensive insight into this ambivalent technology and discuss both new opportunities and potential challenges. The event is a collaboration between the Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT), the Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs (BMEIA) and Biofaction. The films will be presented in cooperation with the BIO-FICTION Science, Art & Film Festival.
Program
Time: Wednesday, 4 December 2024, 16:30 - 20:00
Location: City cinema in the Künstlerhaus, Akademiestraße 13, 1010 Vienna
Moderation: Claudia Reinprecht (BMEIA) & Wenzel Mehnert (AIT)
Admission is free
Registration is requested: Registration here
16:30 Welcome by Matthias Weber (AIT) Presentation of the AIT Foresight Brief on Neurotechnologies
17:00 Panel discussion I: ‘Human rights, ethics and security of neurotechnologies’
Guests: Elisabeth Staudegger (University of Graz); Daniel Hikes-Wurm (BMLV); Eugen Dolezal (University of Vienna);
18:00 Short break
18:10 Film screening BIO-FICTION; short films on neurotechnologies Introduction by Sandra Youssef (Biofaction) The screening will be held in English.
19:00 Panel discussion II: ‘Future visions of neurotechnologies’
Guests: Christopher Coenen (KIT); Alexander Lechner (g.tec); Erika Mondria (Ars Electronica)
20:00 Drinks and snacks in the lounge
End of the event
Speaker
Prof. Dr. Elisabeth Staudegger, Professor at the Faculty of Law at the University of Graz and head of the ‘Law and IT’ department.
Mag Eugen Dolezal, University assistant in Social Ethics at the University of Vienna.
ObstdhmfD Mag. (FH) Daniel Hikes-Wurm, MAS MA, Federal Ministry of Defence Analysis and evaluation of the security and defence policy implications of new technologies.
Christopher Coenen, Dipl-Pol., Research Group Leader ‘Health and Technisation of Life’ at the Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis (ITAS) of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT).
Alexander Lechner, MSc. is Partner Relations Manager at g.tec medical engineering GmbH, a leading company in the development of neurotechnologies and brain-computer interfaces based in Austria.
Mag. Erika Mondria is a NEURO-TECH artist, mental trainer and supervisor for brain projects. She develops participative brain installations that make neurophysiological processes tangible and accessible.
About the event
With this event, the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology is continuing a series of future-oriented dialogues on transformation topics with an impact on Austria's economy, society and politics that began in June. They are based on the broad spectrum of international and European work on foresight and transformative innovation policy carried out at the AIT's Centre for Innovation Systems and Policy . With four Foresight Briefs and associated workshops, 2024 marks the start of a programme of foresight events in, with and for Austria over the next three years.
This event is also part of the MFA's #TechDiplomacy programme. Building on Austria's traditional foreign policy priorities of the primacy of international law, in particular international humanitarian law and human rights, it serves to categorise new disruptive technologies in terms of foreign policy. At the interface of foreign policy, technology and innovation, Austria's #TechDiplomacy aims to achieve added value beyond the traditional approaches of foreign policy in order to raise Austria's profile as a trustworthy partner in multilateral global governance on the one hand, and to contribute to strengthening Austria as a centre of technology and innovation on the other.
