NeuroWeb Roadmap: Results of Foresight & Call for Action

NeuroWeb
Roadmap:
Preliminary
Results &
Call for Action
March 2014
By Russian NeuroWeb
Working Group
‘Collective vision’. Artwork by Alex Grey

PRESENTATION STRUCTURE
• Introduction
• Key elements of NeuroWeb design
• Implications for bodies, individual & collective minds
• User applications
• Organizational: how to make NeuroWeb live?
• Appendix
2

IMAGINARY VISIONS OF NEUROCOMMUNICATIONS LURE IN SCI-FI…
… BUT WHAT ARE THESE EMERGING REALITIES BORN FROM THE
INTEGRATION OF HUMAN POTENTIAL AND NEW TECHNOLOGIES?
3

MAJOR RESEARCH EFFORTS ARE UNDER WAY IN
VARIOUS AREAS OF NEUROSCIENCE …
Next gen prosthetics Brain-brain interface communication
Brain mapping initiatives
… BUT THEIR LONG-TERM IMPLICATIONS ARE NOT EXPLICATED
Remotely controlled robotics
4

THE COMING COGNITIVE REVOLUTION
• Next 10 to 20 years will witness the coming of NeuroWeb – the next stage of
communicational technologies, Internet 4.0 that involves our bodies and
minds into the totality of communication by applying brain-computer and
brain-brain interfaces supported by artificial intelligence & semantic
technologies. Key technologies that precede NeuroWeb will be available
before or around 2020.
• Between 2025 & 2035, ‘cognitive revolution’ will take place, with NeuroWeb
technologies inducing transformations of the human identity, individual &
collective intelligence, and various domains of economy, culture & social life.
• Taking into account the drastic changes brought by NeuroWeb, it is important
and highly relevant to define NeuroWeb future architecture and design
principles, as well as R&D programs that will lead to the emergence of
commercially viable technologies.
• We propose to form an international working group (Council of NeuroWeb)
that will work on the elements of the concept of NeuroWeb and will
consolidate efforts of various businesses and institutions towards this goal.
This presentation presents ideas and early concepts that may lay a foundation
to the creation of such group
5

BIG TRENDS THAT BRING FORTH NEUROWEB
Organ projection
principle
(E.Kapp / P.Florensky)
Meta-system
transition
(TRIZ: G.Altschuller
MSTT: V.Turchin,
C.Joslyn)
Exteriorization & amplification of mind
& body functions
(prosthetics, cyberbodies, artificial senses,
mind augmentation, AI exocortex)
Intellecturalization of technosphere:
IoT ‘smart ambience’, AI in management &
education, artificial agents that mirror &
replace mental functions
Every-one/-thing connected:
explosive growth & proliferation of
communicative networks
Naturalization of technosphere:
‘seamless’ interfaces between mind &
body & technosphere
Collective intelligence in network
cultures: horizontal, complexity-oriented,
emergence-based etc.
IOT+BIOMETRY-WEB:2015-2020
EARLYNEUROWEB:2025-2030

WHAT WILL THIS NEUROWEB REALITY LOOK LIKE?
7
AROUND 2020 AROUND 2030 AROUND 2040
• Biometric wearables become
commonplace. Biometry-
related data actively
employed in healthcare and
behavior-related games
• Neuromarketing maintains
digital models of individual
behavior through BigLiveData
• Biometry enters education:
biometry-adjusted learning,
body-mind states learning
• Neurally controlled
prosthetics becomes
widespread
• Experiments on first groups
connected by neural
interfaces
• Semantic web solutions
• Human-computer interfaces
based on natural verbal &
non-verbal interactions
• First wave of NeuroWeb
solutions in the market
• Dementia, epilepsy and
other brain disorders largely
eliminated
• Artificial agents actively used
to support thinking & acting
• Personalized smart-drugs
• Personalized computer-
aided lifelong learning
dominates education
• Special-state-of-
consciousness training for
productive NeuroWeb use
• Domestic robotics & IoT
become commonplace
• Widespread realistic virtual
worlds & augmented reality
• NeuroWeb takes 40-50%
human Internet
connection
• Organizations and
networks rebuilt around
NeuroWeb solutions
• NeuroWeb based
entertainment &
education
• Personal human-level
Artificial Intelligence
supporting daily routines
becomes widespread

NEUROWEB CREATES NEW DIMENSIONS OF COMMUNICATION
• Emergence of fully-fledged neuro-communication will give
various possibilities and features to the users, such as:
– Personal & group efficiency through increased processing of
information, increased reaction speed, ability to respond to situations of
higher complexity etc.
– New Psychedelic revolution applies special altered states of conciseness
to enhance dispatcher work and creative work in distributed collectives.
– Neural collectives: collaborative work of human groups with high-level
artificial intelligence acting as their ‘exocortex’ (artificial components of
mind outside the brain) that will augment and enhance functions of
their individual and collective minds
– Extended bodies that use artificial sensors and manipulators as
augmented components expanding abilities of natural bodies
– Experience & emotion sharing with other people through enhanced
non-verbal communication and transfer of neural states
– Inter-species dialogues with higher animals using biometric & neural
interfaces and Uplift as a way to advance evolution of other species
towards higher intelligence 8

NEUROWEB ROADMAP INITIATIVE
• As founders of the initiative, we represent a team working with strategizing,
collective vision design & startup acceleration in innovative sectors including
education, biotech, ICT and others. Our team has conducted ‘future
mapping’ for ca.20 various industries, with over 10 thousand experts
participating. We have found a repeating pattern of different industry maps
(transport, space, education, entertainment etc.), sort of ‘attractor of the
future’ that revolves around the NBIC convergence, and in particular the
emergence of the neuro-communicative space that we call NeuroWeb.
• Understanding the perspectives of NeuroWeb requires the discussion of
– the architecture of NeuroWeb, i.e. the key elements of this future network
– the technological path that leads towards NeuroWeb, including possible
applications of technologies that may emerge along the path
– the ‘human side’ of NeuroWeb: what practices will be required to use NeuroWeb,
and how it will be used for entertainment, creativity, management, education,
self-development etc.
– the risks of NeuroWeb technologies and how these can be mitigated
• Recognizing the importance of these issues, in late 2012 we have first come
up with the initiative to create the international Neuroweb roadmap that
could serve as a beacon for research & technology groups 9

ROADMAP DESIGN TIMELINE: WHAT HAS BEEN DONE SO FAR
• Between December 2012 and February 2013 our team has created the
early design of the NeuroWeb roadmap.
• In May 2013 we have launched the Russian working group on NeuroWeb
that has included around 20 leading Russian scholars on neurophysiology,
cognitive psychology, collective intelligence, semantics, artificial
intelligence, communicative technologies etc. The aim of the group is to
discuss potential directions of NeuroWeb development, including
principles and architecture of NeuroWeb design.
• In August 2013 we have published the first version of NeuroWeb
Manifesto that initiates the ‘polylogue’ discussion on the foundations of
NeuroWeb
• The Russian foresight of NeuroWeb has been conducted in October &
November 2013. It has brought together nearly 100 leading scholars and
practitioners in NeuroWeb-related disciplines.
• Our next step in 2014 is to create the global NeuroWeb Council and the
global NeuroWeb Roadmap that will involve leading international
experts. The key workshop will be held at the end of October 2014 in
Moscow. 10

11
This presentation is an invitation. We do not wish to
impose our vision, nor we claim that our vision is
ultimate and final. This vision can only be alive if it is
shared by many people who can implement it.
It is an evolving collective image of the future created
by researchers, manufacturers & users through the
process of Rapid Foresight. This is a continuing
exploration, and it can evolve further - with your help.

• Introduction
• Appendix
12

WHAT IS (WHAT WILL BE) NEUROWEB
• NeuroWeb is the realization of Internet that allows new dimensions* of
communication between humans, or with other living organisms, or with
artificial agents and robots, using neural interfaces
– that directly read information from neural systems of their users, bypassing the
range of intermediary natural / artificial input systems (and sometimes adaptive
mental operations such as verbalizations)
– (and also possibly) directly transmit information into neural systems of their users
bypassing the natural sensory systems (video-, audio- and other sensory channels)
• By definition, NeuroWeb is enabled by technologies that read, transmit, store,
process and generate information in central & peripheral neural systems of
human agents
• Also NeuroWeb encompasses all aspects of technological realization in
Internet that would exist by the time such communication becomes possible
(ca. 2020-25), including technologies of the Internet of Things and the Internet
of Artificial Agents
* There is no point in implementing ‘fully functional’ NeuroWeb unless it provides users with opportunities that
did not exist in earlier realizations of Internet, i.e. NeuroWeb should generate new qualities: speed, depth, and
range of communication that surpass those offered by Internet that employs interfaces with natural sensory &
effectory systems of human body.
13

NEUROWEB AS THE ‘NEXT INTERNET’
2014 2020 2030 2040
Internet of Things
Semantic Internet
(towards Internet of Artificial Agents)
Biometry-Web NeuroWeb
NeuroWeb will be built over the existing Internet architecture
and will become the next stage of its development
Internet 3.0 * Internet 4.0
14* See http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-semantic-web/

KEY INTERFACES OF NEUROWEB
Internet of
Humans
Internet of
Artificial Agents
Internet of
Things
Brain-brain interfaces that would
allow direct communications
between human neural systems
(or between human & higher
animal)
Artificial agents that imitate and
support activities of the
individual & collective mind
Interfaces between individual
natural minds and artificial
components of mind (exocortex)
that support individual &
collective mental activities
Interfaces between individual
natural minds or collective
(hybrid) minds and artificial
body organs
Artificial organs of individual &
collective bodies, including
sensors, manipulators, cyber-
bodies & non-antropomorphic
robotics
15

KEY NEUROWEB TECHNOLOGY, FROM R&D TO ROLL OUT,
ARE CURRENTLY FOCUSED IN THREE MAJOR DOMAINS
* For options marked by asterisk, we are not aware of actual projects implemented at this
moment, but these projects are seen as highly feasible by professionals in the industry
Medicine & sport
Media &
entertainment
Military & industrial
applications
• Solutions for
functionally impaired
(prosthetics /
exoskeletons / sensory
feedback etc.)
• Wearable devices for
health monitoring /
preventive medicine
purposes
• Mind augmentation
drugs
• Sports based on, or
enhanced by, neuro-
devices *
• Neuromarketing
(including new
advertising technologies)
• Neurointerfaces for
gaming & enhanced
game experience
• Science-art using
neurointerfaces
• Sensoriums: neuro-
devices that allow
complex and unusual
experiences in gaming,
movies and other types
of entertainment *
• Remote control of military
robotics and more effective
combat in complex
environments (e.g. DARPA
Silent Talk, partial control of
military fighters etc.)
• Human-machine control
systems for complex industrial
processes and safety
management, including
distributed operator
workstations for dangerous
industrial objects (cranes,
mining equipment, underwater
automatics etc) *
16

TRENDS IN INFORMATION & COMMUNICATION THAT
SUPPORT CREATION OF NEUROWEB
Continuing expansion of
Internet
Growing bandwidth and data storage capacity (growth from 1 to 40
ZB annual data in 10 yrs by 2020, 50-100 Mbps is a common
household bandwidth by 2020, transition to ipv6)
Internet of Things
From 10 BN to 50 BN connected devices in 2020
Robotics as a booming area (billions of industrial & household
devices by 2020)
Semantic technologies
and advancements in
Artificial Intelligence
BigData: sensemaking of information through data-processing in R&D,
management, healthcare, education & everywhere (BigData become
BigLiveData by 2020+)
Semantic translation to semantic Internet (Internet 3.0)
Semantic processing in AI: stronger image recognition algorithms +
increased computational power (quantum computing)
Human body interfaces &
naturalization of
interfaces
Wearable devices ‘quantifying self’ (1 BN by 2020) and body
becoming interface (Kinect, Tobii etc.)
Naturalization & miniaturization of devices (from monitors to
Google Glass in 2014 to monitor contact lense by 2025)
Neural system modelling Human brain emulation
(Human Brain Project in EU, BRAIN Initiative in US)
17

KEY STEPS TO NEUROWEB IMPLEMENTATION
Development of inexpensive high-resolution neuro-interfaces
suitable for mass-market applications
Network architecture: increase in broadband width sufficient
for neuro-information transfer + network protocols for neuro-
information communication
Artificial agents and ‘exocortex’ technologies:
agents that mirror and support mental functions in real time
Growth of wearable applications & wearable
data communication over Internet
Development of psychotechnics that support and enhance
NeuroWeb communications. Training programs for early users
General brain emulation to individual brain mapping
(that allows increasing precision of BCI operation and brain-brain communication)
2014 2018 2025
VIABLE &
SCALEABLE
NEUROWEB
MODEL
AROUND 2023-25
Experimenting with non-
verbal computer interfaces
18

AN INTERMEDIARY STEP: BEFORE NEUROWEB,
EMERGES BIOMETRY-WEB
19
2014 2020 2030
Biometry-web: Internet communication that employs
intensive use of various biometry related data from
wearables, eye trackers, body motion & facial
expression recognition etc.
Neuroweb: Internet
communication employs
neural system readings
alongside biometry data
Biometry reading (for control, learning etc.): wearables (GSR,
myogram, pulse, temp, etc.), non-invasive neurointerfaces,
eye trackers, body & facial motion scan
High-res neurointerface
readings
Biometry meta-language: complex pattern recognition for
multi-dimensional space of body-and-mind states (presented
by combinations of indicators), supported by BigLiveData
Re-mapping of mult-dim
body-mind state space
as neural patterns
Biometry control: biofeedback training to help master the
variety of body-mind states + psycho-techniques that allow fast
switching between these states.
Biofeedback training &
techniques for neural pattern
activation
Artificial agents that mirror & support complex mental
activities controlled with biometry
Artificial agent-based
exocortex
Biometry-Web Rise of NeuroWeb

KEY ELEMENTS OF NEUROWEB ARCHITECTURE CREATION
20
2014 2020 2030
Network capacity growth:
User bandwidth est.10-100 Gbps. In principle, TCP/IP & ipv6 should be
enough (all of this should be created for IoT around 2025-2030)
Standardization of biometry transfer protocols for various wearable
applications, including transfer of neural data
(emergence of neuro:// standard?)
Creation of techno-mediums: artificial agents that maintain
individual maps of neural systems and relate them to external
interfaces (incl. ‘Language of NeuroWeb’)
Language of NeuroWeb: artificial agent that maintains the
‘universal language of mind’, including representations of part of
the mind that interact with external environment (verbal & non-
verbal) as well as ‘deeper’ states of mind
Ongoing development & improvement of neural interfaces
for higher precision & reliability, lower cost & easier installation
Biometry-Web Rise of NeuroWeb
Personalized models
of human behavior
created through
neuromarketing

TWO WAYS FOR NEURAL INTERFACE DEVELOPMENT
21
representation of
existing ’controls’
Growing complexity of technological environments has to be matched by the
complexity of control interfaces. This growth of complexity in control systems can be
achieved twofold:
• NATURALIZATION OF INPUTS: From highly limited input devices
such as keyboard and mouse we move to ‘natural interfaces’
that involve body pose (Kinect), muscle tension (Myo) or eye
focus (Tobii)
• DIRECT NEURAL INPUT: From ‘natural interfaces’ we move to
direct reading of neural patterns through neural interfaces
• INCREASED GRANULARITY: From basic neural readings we
move to more detailed high-resolution readings of neural
ensembles and individual neurons (e.g. ‘neural dust’)
creation of new
‘controls’
• OLD PONY, NEW TRICKS: Our body (or our neural system)
learns how to use sophisticated options provided by new
interfaces such as sequences of actions (in the same way as we
change gears when driving or use hotkeys when typing). These
sequences can be learnt e.g. through biofeedback training.
• LITTLE DEMONS: We can use Artificial Intelligence to support
complex mental operations that involve use of interfaces
(these AIs would shadow and then replicate our routinized
actions, becoming our personal replacements for routine
operations)

NEUROWEB ACCESS: POSSIBLE NEURAL INTERFACE SOLUTIONS*
NeuroWeb requires
high-precision
inexpensive
neurointerfaces that
can be tolerated and
used by the majority
of population (i.e.
minimal cultural
barriers to its use)



Non-invasive: low precision of neuron reading. Higher precision
requires special preparation (e.g. contact gel & skull shaving).
Suitable for basic manipulations (e.g. arcade gameplay) but not
for complex tasks.
Product examples: Emotiv, NeuroSky
Invasive implants: high precision of neuron reading. Electrodes or
optogenetic implants would allow induction of neuron states (not
only reading but also transfer of information). High cultural
resistance – most people reject the idea of implantation.
Product examples: medical applications (e.g. prosthetics control)
Invasive microimplants: high precision of neuron reading. Lower
chance of cultural resistance (implanted through injection, not
brain surgery, and not visible, which is more acceptable).
Product examples: ‘neural dust’ (no real product exists yet)
Non-invasive combinations: low precision neural interfaces +
additional body interfaces (wearables, body motion tracking, eye
tracking). Multiple channels compensate imprecision of neural
interfaces. Can work as an intermediary solution for NeuroWeb.
Product examples: no integrated products exist yet (elements of
technology available in the market: Kinect for motion tracking,
Tobii in eye tracking, Emotiv in neural interfaces, various wearable
solutions)
*Here we list only
feasible solutions that
already exist in various
design stages
22

BRAIN-BRAIN NEUROWEB COMMUNICATION: HARDWARE/SOFTWARE
AI1 AI2
NI1 NI2
Neural interface
level: reading of
actual synaptic states
and/or activation of
new neuron states
Artificial agent (most
likely, built into the
neural interface) uses
the map of individual
neural system to
convert to and from
digital signals received
from the Internet
Neural data is sent over the
network and can be additionally
stored, retrieved or processed by
artificial agents in the network if
necessary
‘Language of NeuroWeb’ is the semantic space of
mental pattern states that allows to convey greater
variety of states & meanings compared to
conventional interfaces. Most likely, this language
will be primarily based on same modalities as our
sensory system.
Neural signal space should be
sufficiently detailed in order to
differentiate between different
brain patterns. The brain plasticity
implies that such patterns not only
will be read, but also created by
the brain specifically to use
interfaces
Interaction between neural
interface and accompanying AI
should be accompanied by their
mutual ‘training’
Map of individual neural system
should differentiate between
individual synaptic states
as well as neural ensemble
patterns
23
AI

MUTUAL ADAPTATION IN BIOMETRY-WEB & NEUROWEB INTERFACES
24
Artificial agents learns to mirror & support various
mental functions of an individual (that may also
become new ‘words’ in the ‘language of NeuroWeb’)
Artificial agent that maps & re-maps the semantic
space of individual body&mind states (represented
by biometric or neural patterns) and constantly
updates its matching to the ‘language of NeuroWeb’
Human agent that learns to use the variety of new
interfaces. Most likely, such interfaces will require that
an agent to enter specialized body-mind states,
especially in collective work – therefore, users of
Biometry-Web and NeuroWeb will be trained for
interface-specific psychotechniques (such training will
be provided, at least in part, by biofeedback devices).
AI
AI

UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE OF THE MIND?
25
1. All neural systems are unique. Hence direct transfer of information from one
neural system to another simply by exciting certain group of neurons is most
likely not possible, with the exception of information from standard sensory
systems (visual & audial).
2. Communication of emotions, body&mind states and experiences will
require to code neural / mental information of one user, transfer it through
the Internet and decode it as a mental / neural information of another user.
This information will also in some cases by modified or adjusted by artifical
agents (e.g. in personalized neural dreaming)
3. Thus, communication in NeuroWeb will require universal system of coding
that can help transfer individual & unique experiences into universal system
of codes. This is a NeuroWeb ‘language of mind’ that would allow to convey
or program its communications. This system of coding will not be designed
once and for all, but will be developed adhoc by various producers as
services of NeuroWeb grow.
4. It is however likely that the further advancement of ISO 15926 standard (a
standard for data integration, sharing, exchange, and hand-over between
computer systems) will be required

BEYOND HARD TECHNOLOGIES: DESIGNING HUMAN
PROTOCOLS FOR NEUROWEB
2014 2020 2030 2040
Biometry-Web (pre-
NeuroWeb) [2014-24]
Rise of NeuroWeb
[2025-35]
Fully-fledged NeuroWeb
[2035+]
26
Developing ‘hard technologies’ of NeuroWeb:
network, BCIs, Ais, data protocols
Ultrafast learning technologies:
precursor for efficient exocortex use
‘Blue Mind’: BigData digital models
of mental processes
Studies of productive body-mind
states for collective intelligence
Digital & pharmaceutical control over
transition to productive body-mind states
Explication of tools & protocols for
control & directing of collective
intelligence processes
Collective intelligence in NeuroWeb: from
NeuroWeb-collectives to
‘mind forests’ (stable collective minds)
‘NeuroWeb language’: communication
protocols based on BigLiveData digital
models of mental processes
Experiments with
exocortex
Direct connection
exocortex-neurocortex

• Introduction
• Appendix
27

Future of individual minds
Future of collective minds
RISE OF AVATARS: Artificial agents that replicate
various mental functions (avatars) will multiple
through BigLiveData
DOORS OF PERCEPTION: Ability of control over
special states of consciousness
becomes a competitive advantage
BLURRED MIND BOUNDARIES: Rise of
augmented individuals, exocortex, collective
minds & multiple bodies
dissolves the boundaries of individual identity
BLURRED BODY BOUNDARIES: new sensory &
effector organs, body sharing & body co-ownership
will blur the body boundaries
RISE OF COLLECTIVE INTELLIGENCE as a key form of
complexity management
MIND FORESTS: Rise of stable collective minds that
also become the climax of personal
uniqueness & authenticity
HYBRID MINDS: Artificial intelligence becomes the
integrating technology for sustainable collectives
NEW TUNES: Control over shared non-verbal
experience becomes the way to tune
and coordinate processes of collective intelligence
?KEY TRENDS FOR BODY, INDIVIDUAL & COLLECTIVE MIND
Future of body
NATURALIZATION OF INTERNET INTERFACES: from special
input-output devices to organs in our bodies (in particular,
neural interfaces will become an integral part of the brain )
END OF EMBODIED MIND: Mind gradually becomes
independent (and possibly completely separated)
from the body over time
Boundaries of individual bodies &
minds become blurred, as new forms
emerge on the collective mind level

FUTURE OF BODY IN NEUROWEB
29
Blurred Body
Boundaries
• Human body will expand and include remote & distributed organs
and bodies (artificial or partially natural), such as remotely
controlled robots & devices. Over time, as humans start to get
cyber augmentations, their own individual bodies will also become
available to access from others, with option of body sharing.
Radical Longevity
• Radical longevity technologies will develop, including emergence of
cyber-bodies, nano- and bio-technologies that will allow to restore,
adjust and transform the body if necessary.
Naturalization of
Neural Interfaces
• Initial interfaces may be electrode implants or non-invasive
solutions, that will be later replaced by microinvasive implants. In
the longer run, there is a possibility of a ‘NeuroWeb port’ organ
that can be grown as a natural part of neural system.
Digital
Immortality
• The emergence of fully-fledged digital copies of individuals in the
Net may put forward a practical question of digital immortality, a
possible ‘life’ of the body-independent mind in the Net. At this
stage, we know too little about the mind and the self to understand
whether ‘digital immortality’ is possible at all.
Black Swan

FUTURE OF INDIVIDUAL MIND IN NEUROWEB
30
Rise of Avatars
• BigLiveData models of individual activities (created for neuromarketing
purposes) will transform into artificial agents that will support daily
routine activities of individuals (i.e. digital copies of particular
behavioral patterns replicated by articifical agents). Players which can
provide such agents will be BigData operators like Google or Facebook.
Doors of
Perception
• As more routine functions will be transferred to such agents, the
demand for unique skills & abilities increases. Productive use of special
states of consciousness will be among the primary ways to find the
personal uniqueness.
• Special states of consciousness can also help productive work in
NeuroWeb (getting sufficiently ‘transparent’ mind to interact with
other individuals & groups in NeuroWeb). NeuroWeb ‘driving license’
will require the basic control over such states of consciousness.
Blurred Mind
Boundaries
• Agents develop into quasi-independent sub-personalities of an
individual that can act on his/her behalf. Ultra-fast learning tools are
used to synchronize between these agents and an individual (over time
these tools will evolve into direct download from exo-cortex to neuro-
cortex). As every individual becomes a cloud of natural & digital sub-
personalities, the boundaries of the individual mind dissolve.
• Mind becomes gradually independent from specific natural & artificial
embodiments, and starts to fluctuate in the Net between multiple
collective minds. (Individual mind becomes a ‘spot’ in NeuroWeb)

FUTURE OF COLLECTIVE MIND IN NEUROWEB
31
Rise of Collective
Intelligence
• First NeuroWeb groups emerge as pragmatic solutions for complexity
management of strategic & operational tasks. They are based on new
standards of collective intelligence (and, potentially, new types of
thinking) with the support of exocortex. Such groups will often include
not only humans connected via Neuroweb, but also cyberbodies and
non-antropomorphous robots.
Hybrid Minds
• NeuroWeb group communication & operation is supported by next
generation Artificial Interlligence, most likely based on deep learning
architecture & quantum computing.
Shared
Experiences
• Transition of NeuroWeb group technologies into mass market
applications allows to launch mass-scale NeuroWeb services, e.g.
transfer of individual experiences and body-mind states (primarily in
domains of education & entertainment: neuro-teaching, neuro-gaming,
neuro-dreaming etc.)
• Shared experiences are used to tune the creation & coordination of
NeuroWeb groups (in the same way as tribal trance practices). They
become collective rhythms of the new kind
Psychozoic Era
• Distributed & shared bodies, co-use of artificial parts of mind in
exocortex, shared access to natural neural networks and other possible
NeuroWeb technologies create a multitude of hybrid forms of multi-
body multi-mind natural& artificial structures. This leads to ‘Psychozoic
Explosion’ of various collective mind forms embedded in biological,
artificial and virtual substrates.

NEUROWEB EVOLUTION: IMPLICATIONS FOR BODIES & MINDS
32
2025 2035 2045
Bodies • distributed bodies with
artificial components
• mass use microinvasive
neural interfaces allow
Neuroweb access
• ‘I change bodies’: bodies
with shared access
protocols, use of multiple
bodies
• Neuroweb access organ
(gene modification)
• ‘digital immortality’?
(mind can exist
independently from
body in the Web)
[BLACK SWAN
POSSIBILITY]
Individual
minds
• protocols for transfer of
images, thoughts,
emotions & mental
states (AI-supported)
• NeuroWeb access
protocols supported by
altered states of
consciousness
• age of ‘threats to identity
& privacy’ (neural hacking
and its consequences)
• augmented individuals
(ultra-fast, ultra-strong,
highly creative etc.) that
exist in post-verbal reality
• total transparency
of individual lives
• individual minds are
‘spots’ in NeuroWeb
blurred multi-
personal
environment
Collective
minds
• ‘neural collectives’ for
complex coordination &
design tasks (supported
by strong AIs) that use
multiple bodies with
non-antropomorphic
(e.g. combat groups)
• first ‘mind forests’: stable
forms of hybrid collective
embedded minds with
(emergence of collective
meta-minds)
• Psychozoic Era:
explosive
emergence of
multitude of forms
of collective &
hybrid minds

‘CLOUD OF THREATS’ TO BE MITIGATED
33
2014 2020 2030 2040
Biometry-Web (pre-
NeuroWeb) [2014-24]
Rise of NeuroWeb
[2025-35]
Fully-fledged NeuroWeb
[2035+]
New Mowgli & ‘dyslexic generation’:
software-based education from very early
age (without properly designed new
pedagogy) may give rise to a new generation
which lacks important skills such as verbal
communication or abstract thinking
Cognitive myopia & T9-zation: use of solutions
that prompt user choices (incl. those in
neuromarketing) may lead to degradation of
complex cognitive functions (e.g. strategic & long-
term thinking) in a substantial share of population
Psycho-Divide: groups that actively explore
NeuroWeb options (incl. altered states of
consciousness) will get advantages over the rest of
population, the separation leading to severe
conflicts. Some groups may collectively enter into
states of mind labeled by others as insanity.
Neural hacking: individuals may be ‘hacked’
through NeuroWeb, their memories or
experiences stolen or altered, and risk to mental
health inflicted
Dogs on the leash: corporations &
government agencies may seek to control
NeuroWeb on the ground of its risks to
population – with possible abuses of
power & potential for total mental control.
Threats of ‘smart ambience’:
over-protective or potentially
destructive

NEUROWEB ETHICS: BIG QUESTIONS
34
Who is the
subject of
action?
Transformations driven by NeuroWeb creation will induce changes in the
fundamental protocols of the human cultures, including ethical rules and norms,
and will put forward big questions such as:
Emergence of new types of
subjects (collective ‘mind
forests’, distributed robotic
bodies controlled by AIs,
hybrid human-machine
minds etc) will challenge
ethics based on the
assumption that the key
acting subject is a human
individual.
• What will be the individual mind in
the ‘ocean of collective
consciousness’ in NeuroWeb,
especially as the detachment of
mind from body might occur?
• How will collective subjects be
identified, and what will be the
rights of such subjects?
• What will be the rights of human-
level artificial intelligent subjects?
Control over
NeuroWeb
• Should governments control minds of their
citizens to prevent negative consequences
of NeuroWeb, or let citizens use open
relational protocols for the potential
emergence of positive consequences?
NeuroWeb
technologies will
pose major risk for
the future traditional
social institutions,
including states

NEUROWEB ETHICS: BIG QUESTIONS (2)
What are the
boundaries
of a subject?
NeuroWeb-related
technologies will
blur the boundaries
between ‘self’ and
‘other’, ‘natural’ and
‘artificial’, ‘living’
and ‘non-living’, etc.
• Is it ethical to destroy artificial agents (incl.
artificial sub-personalities owned by oneself
and others)?
• Artificial bodies – can they be co-owned and
co-used by different individuals, is it ethical to
access and use someone else’s body part, and
on what terms?
• As robots and AIs will become parts of our
personalities in NeuroWeb, to what extent we
will remain humans and not machines (hence
the question of free will)?
• As we move forward on the path of self-
transformation, introducing greater
modifications of minds and bodies, what
human motivations will remain? What will
happen to deepest manifestations of
interhuman relations such as love, friendship
etc.?

ETHICAL DIMENSION OF NEUROWEB
Elements of future ethics:
• ‘open-source’ ethics: (interiorized ethics that was tacitly translated
through cultural norms will be replaced by) exteriorized and
transparent set of community- and context-specific behavioral rules
that are supported by quantitative evaluation systems: e.g. gamified
bonus systems and achievement badges, new currencies (game
currencies, local currencies, creative currencies etc.)
• quest for authenticity: ‘total transparency’ of human societies (hence
the requirement for authentic & sincere behavior) will become the
ground for establishment of new ethical foundations within human
social groups
• ‘living ethics’: people that embed higher ethical qualities can help
direct induction of these qualities in groups, collectives & communities
through Neuroweb protocols
• rise of Humanity: the Humanity as a whole will rise as the new subject
of action by means of Neuroweb. Rights and qualities of this subject
are unclear, but its actions will be evident 36

ETHICAL DIMENSION OF NEUROWEB
Implications:
• traditional holders of systems of ethics, the religion and the state,
come under attack, since they do not retain any exclusive right to
hold this position
• design of ethical systems becomes a concise community-based
process, and communities with experimental ethical systems
emerge in the NeuroWeb (in the same way as modern web
communities model wars, political and economic competitions)
• NeuroWeb development will require the ‘ethics designer toolkit’, an
explicit and a universal system for design of community-based
behavioral rules
• understanding and redesign of ethical system principles again
becomes an important and a highly applied task that will require
the collective contribution of the greatest minds of our time

• Introduction
• Appendix
38

POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS OF NEUROWEB
39
The emergence of NeuroWeb gives new qualities to individual users at least across
three dimensions: speed, depth & range of communications.
Quality Why this quality is achieved
Speed Data processing by natural sensory systems & brain subsystems can be replaced
by computer processing. Reaction time gains can be between 20-100
milliseconds
Potentially, it will also be possible to bypass natural learning mechanisms and
activate neural ensembles for direct ultra-fast learning (theoretically possible,
but no apparent engineering solutions are foreseen yet)
Depth
(natural
functions
performed
more efficiently)
Direct reading of information from brain and transfer into brain allows more
precise communication that allows to convey meanings, emotions & states of
mind
Natural mental functions can be supported & enhanced by artificial agents that
mirror them: e.g. large expansion of memory, enhancement of calculative
abilities & abstract thinking etc.
Range
(additional
artificial
functions)
Enhancing body with additional sensory & effector organs, even with no direct
representation in human anatomy (e.g. dosimeters, flying manipulators etc.)
Accessing to deeper areas of the brain bypassing the normal process of their
activation could lead to unusual & exciting experiences
Similar applications for higher animals can create potential for their verbal
communication with humans, or development of their new mental qualities
such as thinking

POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS OF NEUROWEB (2)
40
NeuroWeb enhancement Area of application Feasibility
Increased reaction speed Anywhere where reaction time is important, e.g. military, sports,
gaming, industrial & transportation operations etc.
High
Increased learning speed Ultra-fast learning in education & work through ‘direct download’
(esp. work of NeuroWeb collectives)
Low
More precise (even direct)
communication of emotions,
states of mind & experiences
Neuromarketing: highly individualized consumption. Applications
in entertainment & education: sharing experiences with other,
enhancing learning & entertaining processes
Group therapy in virtual worlds
High to
Medium
Enhancement of mental
functions by artificial agents
that mirror them
Augmented individuals in all areas of economic & social life, as
well as in healthcare. Full copies of mind in the Net – a path to
‘digital immortality’?
Medium
Enhancing body with additional
sensory & effector organs
Healthcare, industrial, military, sport & daily applications of
enhanced bodies
High
Direct communication with
deeper brain structures
Application in entertainment (incl. ‘explorations of mind’ such as
artificially constructed emotions, neuro-dreaming, neurosports)
Low
Verbal & neural communication
with higher animals
Large opportunities for new level of communication &
collaboration with higher animals
Medium
NeuroWeb technologies would unlock an immense variety of applications across all
domains of human activity (partially these opportunities will be unlocked with Biometry-
Web). Some examples of these applications are given below (and their feasibility
estimate given current technological level).

TWO KEY USER GROUPS DURING EARLY YEARS OF NEUROWEB
41
Organizational Individual
Customers
Industry Government Entertainment Education
• operational control
over complex
technical systems
(collective
dispatching) [plants,
city services,
spaceships etc.]
• development of
complex
architectural /
engineering
solutions (esp. early
stages of design)
• military & emergency
applications (special
task combat force,
emergency operation
centers etc.)
• collective control
over government
functions (e.g.
collective intelligence
for government
decision making)
• personalization of
experiences
(neuromarketing)
• enhanced games &
movies (‘Sensoriums’)
• shared experiences &
states of mind (incl.
neuro-dreaming)
• neurogaming &
neurosports
• NeuroWeb groups for
massive multiuser
online gaming
• direct control over
learning efficiency,
engagement etc.
• learning of body-
mind state control
• group therapy &
personal
transformation in
NeuroWeb
‘psychodrama
worlds’
• ultra-fast learning
in NeuroWeb
Beyond individual applications,
NeuroWeb will be intensively
used to work with various forms
of collective intelligence

TWO MAIN SCENARIOS OF NEUROWEB PROLIFERATION
42
Scenario 1 Scenario 2
Primary driver Organizational users Consumers
Value
proposition
Increased efficiency in
complex environments
Personalized & unusual experiences
‘Quantified self’ control over aspects
of life
First
applications
Focused applications of
NeuroWeb collectives in
industrial operations,
distributed design,
emergency control and
military applications
Highly personalized experiences in
entertainment (movies, gaming etc.)
Special applications of neural
technologies that cannot be
provided by technologies based on
natural sensory & effector systems
(e.g. direct control over learning
process in distant learning, teaching
body-mind states through
biofeedback & gaming etc.)
Spillover Creation of NeuroWeb
collectives in entertainment
(e.g. gaming) and education
(group learning)
Organizational applications in HR
area (e.g. team building, increased
productivity etc.)

• Introduction
• Appendix
43

CAN WE MAKE THE CREATION OF NEUROWEB
A TRULY OPEN PROCESS?
• It is highly probable that within the next decade first commercial NeuroWeb
prototypes will be created by one or several corporate or government
players that will attempt to define the standards of this new generation of
networks
• However, we believe that the importance of NeuroWeb for the future of
civilization, and the potential that it holds for the evolution of humankind,
require that its design should be made through open collaboration of
researchers, engineers and future users, and that its essential backbone
technologies should belong to all of humanity.
• The present stage of NeuroWeb development is a stage when the principles
of its design and operation can be defined (in the same manner as early
Internet designs and defining protocols were created by J.C.R. Licklider,
R.Kahn & V.Cerf, T.Berners-Lee and others)
• The Council of NeuroWeb could become an international working group
that seeks to close interdisciplinary gaps and maintain a productive
roadmap for NeuroWeb development through interaction of key
stakeholders and ‘big-think’ visionaries. 44

THE TECHNOLOGY-FOCUSED CORE OF THE COUNCIL
SHOULD BE SUPPORTED BY USER APPLICATION DESIGNERS
& ‘BIG THINK’ VISIONARIES
Core of the Council:
Neurophysiologists & Engineers
• Neurophysiologists, BCI and
biodeedback systems
developers
• Cognitive scientists &
psychologists
• Collective Intelligence experts
• Artificial Intelligence specialists,
semantic web , semantics and
linguistic technology specialists
• Network protocol developers,
programmers and engeneers
Future application co-designers
• Healthcare
• Wellness Industry
• Psychotherapy
• Education &
Child Development
• Media & Entertainment
45
‘BigThink’ experts
• Futurology
• Big History & evolutionary
thinkers
• System & complexity thinkers

ELEMENTS OF COLLECTIVE WORK
Foresight
Research &
development
(in partner
institutions)
Startups &
other
applications
International NeuroWeb Council
(annual meetings & ongoing interactions)
Inter-university program(s) MSc Neuroinformatics
with foresight & project-based learning components that become
‘breeding grounds’ for NeuroWeb experts & technologies
46
NeuroWeb Council could help maintain the dialogue between key stakeholders
through Foresight, help coordinate independent research efforts & applications for
mutual benefits, and support a focused (international) educational program

OUR WORK PLANS
2013 2014
Creation of Russian
NeuroWeb group,
Russian NeuroWeb
Foresight (2013)
Continuing work on research & application projects
initiated through foresight
Creation of international
working group & Global
NeuroWeb Foresight (2014)
472015 2016
Continuing work of
International NeuroWeb Council
Launch of (international) educational program in
Neuroinformatics (2015)
Launch of a Foundation to help
finance applied projects in
NeuroWeb (2015-16)

TO ALL OUR FUTURE PARTNERS: WHAT WE CAN DO TOGETHER
1. Provide us with feedback on our NeuroWeb ‘map of the future’
in this presentation, and link us to other interested parties
2. Participate in (or otherwise support) our International Foresight
aimed to create the Global NeuroWeb Roadmap in 2014
3. Participate in (or otherwise support) the International
NeuroWeb Council aimed to coordinate research efforts that
work towards creation of NeuroWeb technologies (including
the support of international R&D cooperation)
4. Participate in (or otherwise support) the design & hosting of
the international Master program in Neuroinformatics
5. Organize (or otherwise support) events that help promote
NeuroWeb concepts & cause
6. Collaborate with Group or Council members on specific
research / application projects that can help advance
NeuroWeb
48

• Introduction
• Appendix
49

LEADERS OF NEUROWEB ROADMAP PROJECT
Dr. Pavel Luksha, co-founder`
Professor of SKOLKOVO Moscow School of Management. Member of Expert
Council of the Agency for Strategic Initiatives, co-founder of Russian R&D Directors
Club. Expertise in education and mentoring of technological startups and executive
teams focused on R&D and innovation.
Leader of Education 2030, Skills 2030 and NeuroWeb Foresight projects, author of
Future Agendas for Global Education, creator of Rapid Foresight methodology.
Co-leader of RF Group (refuture.me), leading Russian think-and-do tank in
education. Program Director of Russian Foresight Fleet (largest future-awareness
educaton project in the world).
Research in evolutionary economics, information theory & systems thinking.
Dr. Timour Shchoukine, co-founder
CEO at wetware.ru – biofeedback and neurointerface research laboratory. Subliminal
biofeedback and collective biofeedback methods creator. 15 years of biofeedback
practice experience. Biofeedback device startup co-founder.
Initiative 2045 co-founder (responsible for scientific expert work, technological
project roadmap creation, research project planning & management, volunteers
network creation and managemen)
Expert in invention problem solving (TRIZ) methodology.
Team member of Education 2030 & Skills 2030 Foresights, RF Group.
Co-leader of NeuroWeb Foresight.
Research in Biofeedback methodology, AI-based image recognition in EEG analysis.
Co-author of several science-art biofeedback based projects.
Researcher at Psychosemantics laboratory of Psychology department of Moscow
State University, Russia 50

ORGANIZATIONS SUPPORTING RUSSIAN NEUROWEB PROJECT
51
Russian Venture Company
Neurobotics
Center for Strategic
Research North-West
Alpha Smart Systems
Council on Artificial
Intelligence, Institute of
Philosophy, RAS
Optical Neural Technology
Research Center, System
Studies Institute, RAS
Laboratory for Neurophysiology
and Neuro-Computer Interfaces,
Moscow State University
Institute of Psychology,
Russian Academy of Sciences
2045 Strategic Social
Initiative
Future Biotech Russia

KEY MEMBERS OF RUSSIAN WORKGROUP
Professor Alexander Kaplan
Neurophysiologist, founder of the first Russian
Laboratory on Neuro-Computer Interfaces, Moscow
State University
Professor Vitaly Dunin-Barkovsky
Head of the Neuroinformatics group of the Optical
Neural Technology Center, Russian Academy of
Sciences
Professor David Dubrovsky
Chief of the Research Council on Artificial
Intelligence, Russian Academy of Sciences
Professor Petr Schedrovitsky
Vice-director of Philosophy institute, Russian
Academy of Science. Key Russian expert on
Collective Intelligence
Professor Akop Nazaretyan
Senior Research Fellow of the Oriental
Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences. Key Russian
expert in Big History
Dr. Anatoly Levenchuk
President of TechnoInvestLab (leading Russian
advisory in complex systems engineering &
semantic data integration, member of ISO15926)
Dr. Vladimir Konyshev
CEO Neurobotics (leading Russian technological company in
the area of neural & biometry interfaces, and BCI-controlled
robotics)
Dr. Dmitry Kuzmin
Research Associate in Neuroscience, University College
London. Chairman of Future Biotech, partner at RusBio
Ventures
Dr. Anatoly Prokhorov
Executive producer, media&educational project ‘Smeshariki’
(Kikoriki), Vice-President of National Children Foundation.
Oleg Bakhtiyarov,
Head of Psychonetics Laboratory (leading research center
on new pscyhotechnics that support collective intelligence
& complexity management)
Dr. Dmtry Bulatov
Senior curator at National Centre for Contemporary Arts.
Key Russian expert on science art employing neuro-
technologies.
Alan Francis
Master at Taoist and Gurgieff traditions, co-founder of
Oregon/Portland Gurdjieff Foundations.
52

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