Mind, brain, body, and neuroethics: a conversation with Karen Rommelfanger

When I was a kid, I thought that white cranes did not exist.In my mind, they were a fantasy, mythological creatures like unicorns, sphinxes, and centaurs.All the cranes I had ever encountered in real life were gray.But I was wrong!White cranes were real, and they looked as fabulous in real life as they were on those mesmerizing paintings and embroideries that once upon a time were my only window into the Far East.This is what I thought looking through the window of a train in October 2017 on my way to the Global Neuroethics Summit in Daegu, South Korea.My train was making its way across the southern part of the Korean Peninsula, and small rivers and lakes glided by.Totally live and real white cranes stood graciously in shallow waters.The goal of the Global Neuroethics Summit-supported by the Kavli Foundation and the Korea Brain Initiative-was to convene representative leading scientists and ethicists of brain initiatives and cultural scholars from around the world to discuss cross-cultural perspectives arising at the interface between brain science and societal ethics.During the Summit, we drafted a paper, which was published a year later, 1 that outlined neuroethics priorities for global brain projects.This is also where I met Dr. Karen Rommelfanger who was co-chairing the Summit with Dr. Sung-Jin Jeong of the Korea Brain Initiative.Dr. Rommelfanger started her academic career as a neuroscientist.For over a decade, she studied Parkinson's Disease using a broad array of neurotechnologies including brain imaging and electrophysiological recordings.Then she became the founder and director of the Neuroethics Program at Emory University.She was the senior associate editor for the American Journal of Bioethics Neuroscience and former executive board member of the International Neuroethics Society.She serves as a member of the BRAIN Initiative's Neuroethics Working Group and was on the advisory council to the director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for BRAIN 2025.In addition, she continues to co-chair the International Brain Initiative's Global Neuroethics Workgroup and is a member of the Global Futures Council on neurotechnology for the World Economic Forum.During the pandemic she launched a neuroethics consulting firm where she tackles real-world problems for nonprofits, policy entities, and tech startups, by creating and implementing neuroethics strategies in the field.Last fall, she left her full-time faculty position as associate professor at Emory to dedicate her attention to launching an independent think-and-do tank, the Institute of Neuroethics, which is the first international think tank wholly dedicated to neuroethics.I recently asked Dr. Rommelfanger to share her thoughts on several topics related to rapidly advancing neurotechnology in the context of traditionally philosophical values of East and West.Below, I would like to share with you part of this conversation.Anna: Many of our readers are working towards a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree or have it already, but probably not too many know that the original Greek meaning of "philosophy" is "love of wisdom."You received your PhD in experimental neuroscience before becoming a leader in the field on neuroethics.One of your current areas of research is the ethical implications of emergent brain-machine interfaces (BMI).In your opinion, what does it take to be wise at the interface between neuroscience and neurotechnology?