A Technocratic Oath

Abstract

In the last decades, novel neurotechnologies are enabling the collecting and analyzing of neuronal data as well as the targeted alteration of brain activity. While this progress has the potential to help many patients with neurological or mental diseases, it also raises significant ethical and societal consequences, putting the mental privacy, identity and agency of citizens potentially at risk. As one approach to provide ethical guidelines to novel neurotechnologies, we propose a “Technocratic Oath,” as a pledge of simple, fundamental ethical core principles to be adopted by Neurotechnology developers and the industry. Our proposed Technocratic Oath is anchored on seven ethical principles: beneficence, non-maleficence, autonomy, justice, dignity, privacy and transparency. The Technocratic Oath is modelled after the Hippocratic Oath, a pledge taken by all physicians as they enter the medical profession. While legally non-binding, the professional weight of the Hippocratic Oath has historically led to responsible practices in the world of medicine. Similarly, the Technocratic Oath could help establish and propagate a core of ethical principles to ensure responsible innovation and to protect the fundamental human rights of patients and consumers.