Neuroprivacy in Arts and Culture

On April 3, Gray Area presents Neuroprivacy in Arts and Culture: a symposium convening experts at the intersection of bioscience and creative practice to discuss the looming implications of brain-interfacing technologies. As neural tech migrates from research labs into the consumer market, many fundamental questions about cognitive liberty and mental privacy arise with renewed urgency.

Neurosurveillance and neuroprivacy currently exist in a legal, social, and ethical gray area — a space of indeterminacy, where the line between right and wrong has not yet been drawn. From behavior-monitoring and prediction algorithms, to body-implanted hardware that connects directly to the nervous system, the curtain separating the most private, internal aspects of our lives is currently being drawn back. Who owns our brain data? What happens when our thoughts, emotions, and behavioral patterns become accessible to the government and corporations? Is there a future where neurosurveillance is outweighed by the capacity for neural tech to radically improve our lives? What can culture facilitators, researchers, and community members do to protect the last frontier of our sense of self?

In this one-night event at Gray Area, technologists, bioethicists, artists, and advocates of self-quantification will engage in a critical conversation with each other and the public about the cultural, ethical, legal, and political implications of the use of wearables and biodata-collection devices in artistic practice and research.

This rich and timely discussion will include participating speakers: Amy Karle, Barbara Nerness, Gary Wolf, Guadalupe Hayes-Mota, Kim Old, Jaron Lanier, and Rhonda Holberton. The event is curated by Anastasia Chernysheva in partnership with Gray Area.