The Cornell Club of Switzerland is pleased to invite you to a talk by 
Dr. Marcello Ienca, Ph.D.
on
Preserving the Right to Cognitive Liberty

 
Date:     1 February 2018
 
Time:     18h00    Presentation & discussion
               19h30    Dinner for those choosing to remain
 
Place:    Restaurant zum Rebhaus
               Riehentorstrasse 11, Basel
  https://www.zumrebhausbasel.ch
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
 
Dear Cornellians and Friends,
 
An article in the August 2017 edition of Scientific American caught my attention for two reasons. The content was fascinating and a bit disturbing, and the article was written by a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Basel, Marcello Ienca. Dr. Ienca has completed his Ph.D. in the meantime and is now at the ETH Zurich as a postdoctoral researcher. The article begins as follows:
 
A new type of brain-imaging technology could expose—even change—our private thoughts
By Marcello Ienca
The idea of the human mind as the domain of absolute protection from external intrusion has persisted for centuries. Today, however, this presumption might no longer hold. Sophisticated neuroimaging machines and brain-computer inter faces detect the electrical activity of neurons, enabling us to decode and even alter the nervous system signals that accompany mental processes. Whereas these advances have a great potential for research and medicine, they pose a fundamental ethical, legal and social challenge: determining whether or under what conditions it is legitimate to gain access to or interfere with another person’s neural activity.
 
Here is a link to the full article:
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/preserving-the-right-to-cognitive-liberty/
 
I invited Dr. Ienca to give a talk about this article and his area of research, and he kindly accepted the invitation. The talk will be informal, and there will be ample opportunity to ask questions and discuss the issues at hand. 
 
For the Cornell Club of Switzerland
Bernie MacCabe
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
 
Drinks (wine, water, soft drinks) will be served during the talk. Persons who are not active members of the Cornell Club will be asked to contribute CHF 5.00 towards the cost of providing drinks. 
 
The discussion will be followed by an optional dinner. Each participant will pay directly for his or her own food and drink at dinner. The Restaurant zum Rebhaus is a kleinbasler restaurant deeply rooted in the local traditions and known for its hearty cuisine. 
 
Register by 29 January 2018 via email to bernard.maccabe@chmac.ch, stating whether you will remain for the dinner as well.