News27th July 2026
In our 2013 novel neurotechnologies report, we noted how BCIs had the potential to facilitate someone’s movement and communication through their ability to measure and then modify a person’s brain activity. We identified that BCIs (and other neurotechnologies) could raise complex questions about personal autonomy, identity, privacy and equity, and developed an ethical framework to guide everyone involved in their development and/or use.
Now, more than a decade later, the potential use of BCIs combined with AI systems and quantum computing is reframing these longstanding issues and generating new ethical questions, including how to balance the potential benefits and harms of using novel BCI applications outside of traditional healthcare contexts.
The advances we are seeing in these technologies and how might they work together, mean it is timely and important for us to explore the ethical issues they raise and, in doing so, revisit our 2013 framework.
The project will incorporate information gathered through a review we commissioned on developments in neurotechnologies, and a subsequent call for evidence on where we could most helpfully work to address gaps in ethical guidance in this space.
As with many emerging biotechnologies, the pace of scientific development around BCIs is accelerating rapidly, and they are showing increasing therapeutic promise in treating some serious and debilitating brain conditions. For this promise to result in benefits for society, ethical analysis of their development, use and convergence with computing methods is needed so that it can underpin policy and practice.”
Natalie Michaux, Research and Policy Manager at the NCOB
Our project will be overseen by an interdisciplinary expert Working Group, chaired by Martyn Pickersgill, Professor and Personal Chair in the Sociology of Science and Medicine at the University of Edinburgh. Together, the working group will deliberate the evidence we gather and then use this to develop up-to-date ethical advice and recommendations for those making decisions about BCIs and related neurotechnologies.
I’m honoured to Chair the Nuffield Council on Bioethics’ working group looking at brain-computer interfaces. Reflective dialogue across disciplines and sectors is essential to ensure that the socio-ethical dimensions of research and implementation in this space are appropriately considered. Through this, we will be uniquely positioned to develop ethically and socially robust recommendations that foster responsible innovation”
Martyn Pickersgill, Chair of the Working Group