Empirical research on stakeholder perspective

(Montreal, Munich, Granada)

In exploring the ethical, legal, and social implications of new technologies it is pivotal to consider the perspectives of the primary stakeholders – in particular the prospective users, the professionals deciding about the use of the technology, and the general public.

Therefore, the empirical part of the project will explore the experiences that patients and healthy research subjects have already made with BCIs. Specifically, we focus on the sense of agency, their personal relation to the BCI device, their feeling of responsibility, their concerns about privacy, and the informed consent process they have undergone. We will also compare the experiences of patients to experiences of their relatives. The empirical part of the project will be carried out in close collaboration with the first research area that deals with conceptual analysis.

Additionally, to identify the acceptability and concerns regarding BCI use by pertinent health care professionals (e.g., neurologists, physiotherapists, speech therapists et al.) and the general public, we will survey them on their perspectives. We will also examine factors influencing moral judgments on BCIs and compare these answers between different cultural contexts (Canada, Spain and Germany).

For further inquiries on this topic please contact Orsolya Friedrich of the Munich Research Group who leads this research area.