Augmenting Brains
Last page edit: April 9, 2024.
'Augmenting Brains' is a series of in-person events dedicated to the discussion of the future of brain sensing.
The first event was held on December 9, 2022 at the newly opened MIT Museum and MIT Media Lab, Cambridge, MA, United States.
We covered a variety of topics, including:
living implants
memory fabrication
holograms
dreams
and more.
Also included were the demos and inspiration stations of dream experiences, and other brain-computer interfaces.
We had a deep dive together with our speakers and audience about the multitude of current use cases and form-factors, as well as the future ones.
Additionally, we covered topics such as: hardware, healthtech, entertainment, wellbeing, ethics, and legislation.
Who should attend the event?
'Augmenting Brains' is perfect for BCI aficionados, sci-fi lovers, ethicists, creators, directors, producers, tinkerers, VCs, investors, heads of innovation, lab decision makers responsible for information, technology, strategy, and investment in brain sensing tech.
Speakers and Agenda
In addition to world renowned scientists from the Media Lab and larger MIT community , we were extremely excited to host speakers and guests all in-person from different institutions around the world with different backgrounds. The agenda is below.
10:00am | Registration & Breakfast
10:30am | Welcome and Intro.
Video available here.
Nataliya Kosmyna, Ph.D – Research Scientist, MIT Media Lab; Creator, Curator and Organizer of Augmenting Brains
10:40am | Cognitive Augmentation.
Video available here.
Prof. Pattie Maes – MIT Media Lab; Media Arts and Sciences
11:20am | Coffee break | Demos and Inspiration Stations
11:40am | Writing to the Brain, Part 1 – Implanting Memories.
Video available here.
Prof. Elizabeth F. Loftus – UCI School of Social Ecology; Distinguished Professor of Psychological Science
12:40pm | Writing to the Brain, Part 2 – Writing to the Brain in Sleep.
Video available here.
Dr. Nathan Whitmore – Postdoctoral student, MIT Media Lab
1:10pm | Lunch
2:10pm | Living with a BCI
Video available here.
Theresa Vaughan, BA, National Center for Adaptive Neurotechnologies
3:10pm | Coffee break | Demos and Inspiration Stations
3:30pm | Towards future systems? Part 1 - Living Wires
Video available here.
Prof. Kacy Cullen, University of Pennsylvania
4:10pm | Towards future systems? Part 2 – Holograms, AGI, Entertainment and Beyond
Video available here.
Steven Kane, producer, Halo
4:50pm | Closing Remarks
Video available here.
Nataliya Kosmyna, Ph.D – Research Scientist, MIT Media Lab; Creator, Curator and Organizer of Augmenting Brains
Please check the event's website for up-to-date information.
Theresa Vaughan, BA, National Center for Adaptive Neurotechnologies, ‘Living with a BCI’.
Prof. Pattie Maes – MIT Media Lab; Media Arts and Sciences, ‘Cognitive Augmentation’.
Dr. Nathan Whitmore – Postdoctoral student, MIT Media Lab, ‘Writing to the Brain, Part 2 – Writing to the Brain in Sleep’
Steven Kane, producer, Halo, ‘Towards future systems? Part 2 – Holograms, AGI, Entertainment and Beyond’
Prof. Elizabeth F. Loftus – UCI School of Social Ecology; Distinguished Professor of Psychological Science, ‘ Writing to the Brain, Part 1 – Implanting Memories’.