Sociotechnical, Regulatory, and Participatory Perspectives on Neurotechnological Human Enhancement in the Context of Work
Project Description
The NeuroEnhance collaborative project is part of the BMFTR funding measure „INSIGHT II – Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Disruptive Innovations“ in the field of human enhancement. The goal of the research projects in this area is to conduct a forward-looking impact assessment that examines the potential social, economic, health-related, ethical, legal, and political implications of the various possibilities for human enhancement.
The collaborative project NeuroEnhance examines the opportunities, risks, and governance requirements of enhancement through non-medical neurotechnologies in the context of the workplace. Work is viewed as a paradigmatic domain in which the ambivalence of neurotechnological applications—between self-optimization and external control—is particularly evident. The goal is to establish conceptual and empirical foundations for a nuanced and multi-layered regulation of enhancement technologies, as well as to develop practical guidelines for policymakers, regulators, companies, and social partners.
The project consists of five interconnected work packages:
- Interdisciplinary Foundations: Technology Scenarios, the Concept of Enhancement, and Equity in the Workplace (Lead: University of Cologne)
- Co-Creating Future Visions of Neurotechnological Work Systems (Lead: University of Tübingen)
- Empirical Analysis of the Impact of Neurotechnological Enhancement Systems on the Workplace (Lead: University of Mannheim)
- Legal, Regulatory, and Standards-Related Analysis of Neurotechnological Enhancement Systems (Lead: Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis (ITAS) at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, University of Mannheim, University of Freiburg)
- Project Management, Synthesis of Results, and Knowledge Transfer within the INSIGHT-II Framework (Lead: University of Mannheim)
Team Members & Cooperation partners
- Prof. Dr. Philipp Kellmeyer, University of Mannheim
- Carolin Heizmann, University of Mannheim
- Christopher Coenen, KIT-ITAS
- Prof. Dr. Dr. Orsolya Friedrich, University of Cologne
- Dr. Stephanie Müller, University of Cologne
- Prof. Dr. Sabine Ammon, University of Tübingen
- Wenzel Mehnert, University of Tübingen
- Aleksandra Kazakova, University of Tübingen
- Prof. Dr.-Ing. Thomas Stieglitz, University of Freiburg
- Dr.-Ing. Danesh Ashouri Vajari, University of Freiburg
Advisory Board
- Prof. Dr. Markus Langer, Chair of Work and Organizational Psychology, University of Freiburg
- Dr. Ann-Kathrin Rauch, Medical Center and Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg
- Prof. Dr. Louisa Specht-Riemenschneider, Chair of Civil Law, Data Economy Law, Data Protection, Digitalization, and Artificial Intelligence, University of Bonn
- Dr. Martin Schuettler, CorTec GmbH, Freiburg
