Can BCIs enlighten the concept of agency? A plea for an experimental philosophy of neurotechnology

Abstract

Passive BCIs can be used to measure brain processes that take place without necessarily having the intention to communicate, or even while being unaware that specific information about mental states is being collected. This type of symbiotic neurotechnology has the potential to create new and philosophically fascinating cases where the question of "was that me?" will make sense from both an individual and a societal perspective. We think that symbiotic technology is philosophically interesting in that it enables subconscious brain states to influence actions in a new, technology-mediated way. We will examine some of these cases and make a plea for a more systematic use of symbiotic technology in experimentally guided thought experiments aimed at studying the sense of agency. Our guiding questions are: What could technology-induced agency confusions tell us about the experience of ownership of action? What theoretical (e.g., conceptual) and practical implications (e.g., related to identity and responsibility) might this have?