Facebook Steps Into the Ring on Neural Input Ethics

Matters of privacy and data ethics are nothing new to Facebook. When it comes to the company’s ambitious plans for the future of augmented and virtual reality, the question is whether or not the company can tackle those issues head on before something goes wrong. The same cameras and sensors that enable AR/VR tech could be harnessed to provide companies with mountains of data on users, raising a host of concerns about potential misuse.

For Facebook’s researchers working on non-invasive neural interfaces—which Facebook hopes might change the way we use just about any device—one strategy is to simply engage with peers and critics early and often. Yesterday, that took the form of a symposium on the ethical considerations of neural interface technology, organized in partnership with Columbia University’s NeuroRights Initiative.