The progress of BRAIN-AI, which is a fusion of brain neuroscience research and artificial intelligence research, has been remarkable in recent years, and it has the potential to bring about expansion of the brain's abilities, which are currently untapped, through fusion with AI.On the other hand, various ethical, legal and social issues remain in relation to its application.
Against this background, JST ERATO's "Ikeya Brain AI Fusion Project" (BRAIN-AI Hybrid) and the JST Social Technology Research and Development Center's "Human-Information Ecosystem" (HITE) research and development area are: The BRAIN- AI x HITE" collaborative activities.
As part of this effort, we conducted an awareness survey on brain science/brain information among the general public and researchers in the field of neuroscience, in order to understand the differences in interest in society and the researcher community, or the gaps between them.
As a result, although the general public does not know much about neuroscience, there is a strong sense of expectation and strong interest in neuroscience research (especially the possibilities and risks of technological applications, data governance and privacy). about the problem) was found to exist.
On the other hand, the facts of ELSI, such as discrimination surrounding the brain (stigma), technology accessibility (fair access to the latest technology), and happiness (well-being), cannot be said to be of high interest to the general public, but rather to researchers. It was suggested that the interest and discussion of
Based on the results of this survey, future BRAIN-AI x HITE collaborative activities will hold citizen-participation workshops to extract points of discussion, in order to gain a more concrete understanding of the general public's expectations of neuroscience research. At the same time, we will explore neuroscience research based on society's expectations and concerns and appropriate communication with society.
