Neurotech at Work?
Welcome to the world of brain monitoring for employees
妮塔·法拉哈尼（Nita A. Farahany）| 文???

The era of brain surveillance has begun. Advances in neuroscience and artificial intelligence are converging to give us an affordable and soon-to-be widely available generation of consumer neurotech devices—a catchall term for gadgets that, with the help of dry electrodes, connect human brains to computers and the ever-more-sophisticated algorithms that analyze the brain-wave data.

大腦監(jiān)控的時代已經(jīng)開啟。神經(jīng)科學(xué)和人工智能的進(jìn)步正合力為我們提供負(fù)擔(dān)得起且即將廣泛使用的一代消費(fèi)型神經(jīng)技術(shù)設(shè)備——這是對一些小工具的統(tǒng)稱，這些小工具借助干電極，將人的大腦與計算機(jī)和分析腦電波數(shù)據(jù)的日益復(fù)雜的算法相連接。

Neuroscientists wrote off earlier iterations of consumer neurotech devices as little better than toys. But as both the hardware and the software have improved, neurotechnology has become more accurate and tougher to dismiss. Today, the global market for neurotech is growing at a compound annual rate of 12% and is expected to reach $21 billion by 2026. This is not a fad. It’s a new way of living and thinking about ourselves and our well-being—personally and professionally.

神經(jīng)科學(xué)家們認(rèn)為，早期迭代的消費(fèi)型神經(jīng)技術(shù)設(shè)備比玩具好不了多少。可是，隨著硬件和軟件的改進(jìn)，神經(jīng)技術(shù)變得更加準(zhǔn)確，也更難讓人不屑一顧。今天，神經(jīng)技術(shù)的全球市場正以12%的復(fù)合年增長率增長，到2026年預(yù)計將達(dá)到210億美元。這并非一種時尚。它是一種新的生活方式，也是對我們自己和我們的幸福感進(jìn)行思考的新方式——從個人和職業(yè)的角度。

Brain sensors have a rapidly expanding range of personal applications. Using a simple, wearable device that measures electrical activity in the brain or at muscle junctions throughout the body, you can now get graphical, real-time displays of your brain activity and bioelectric changes in your muscles. You can use those displays to “see” your emotions, your arousal, and your alertness. You can learn if you’re wired to be conservative or liberal; whether your insomnia is as bad as you think; whether you’re in love or just in lust. You can track changes in neurological function over time, such as the slowing down of activity in certain brain regions associated with the onset of conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, schizophrenia, and dementia. If you have epilepsy, you can get advance warning of a seizure so that you can prepare yourself for it. If you’re a football player, you’ll soon be able to wear a smart helmet that can diagnose concussions immediately after they occur.

大腦傳感器的個人應(yīng)用范圍正在迅速擴(kuò)大。通過使用一個簡單的可穿戴設(shè)備來測量大腦或全身肌肉連接處的電活動，你現(xiàn)在可以得到用圖形實(shí)時顯示的大腦活動以及肌肉中的生物電變化。你可以利用這些圖像來“看到”你的情緒、你的興奮度和你的警覺度。你可以了解到自己天生是保守派還是自由派；你的失眠是否如你想象的那樣嚴(yán)重；你是在戀愛還是僅僅心生欲望。你可以跟蹤神經(jīng)功能隨時間的變化，比如與阿爾茨海默癥、精神分裂癥和癡呆癥等疾病的發(fā)病有關(guān)的某些大腦區(qū)域活動減緩。如果你有癲癇，你可以提前得到癲癇發(fā)作的警告，這樣你就可以讓自己做好準(zhǔn)備。如果你是一名橄欖球運(yùn)動員，你很快就能戴上一頂智能頭盔，它可以在腦震蕩發(fā)生后立即診斷出來。

Neurotech devices also have a rapidly expanding range of commercial and managerial applications. Companies across the globe have started to integrate neural interfaces into watches, headphones, earbuds, hard hats, caps, and VR headsets for use in the workplace to monitor fatigue, track attention, boost productivity, enhance safety, decrease stress, and create a more responsive working environment. This is new and uncharted territory, full of promise and peril for employers and employees alike. Neurotech devices offer employers ways to improve the well-being and productivity of their employees and thus create healthier, more successful organizations.

神經(jīng)技術(shù)設(shè)備在商業(yè)和管理上的應(yīng)用范圍也在迅速擴(kuò)大。全球各地的企業(yè)已開始將神經(jīng)接口集成到手表、耳機(jī)、耳塞、安全帽、帽子和VR頭盔中，用其在工作場所監(jiān)測疲勞、跟蹤注意力、提高生產(chǎn)力、增強(qiáng)安全性、減少壓力，并創(chuàng)造一個響應(yīng)性更強(qiáng)的工作環(huán)境。這是一個新的未知領(lǐng)域，對雇主和員工均充滿了希望和危險。神經(jīng)技術(shù)設(shè)備為雇主提供了提升員工幸福感和生產(chǎn)力的方法，從而創(chuàng)建更健康、更成功的企業(yè)。

But they also give employers access to incidental information that can be used to discriminate against employees—for example, information about early cognitive decline. And if employers fail to be transparent about what data they’re collecting and why, the devices can undermine employee trust and morale.

可是，它們也讓雇主有機(jī)會獲得可用于歧視員工的附帶信息——比如，關(guān)于認(rèn)知能力提早下降的信息。如果雇主對自己在收集何種數(shù)據(jù)以及收集這些數(shù)據(jù)的原因未做到透明，這些設(shè)備可能會破壞員工的信任和士氣。

Advances in neurotechnology certainly raise significant privacy concerns for employees. Will they know what brain data is being collected or how their employer will use it? Whatever is gained in workplace safety or productivity could be offset by the loss of employee trust, an essential ingredient of corporate success. Employees in high-trust organizations are more productive, have more energy, collaborate better, and are more loyal; employees in low-trust companies feel disempowered and become disengaged. And disengagement matters: It’s recently been estimated that corporations in the United States lose $450 billion to $550 billion each year because of it.

神經(jīng)技術(shù)的進(jìn)步當(dāng)然會給員工帶來重大的隱私問題。他們是否知道哪些大腦數(shù)據(jù)正在被收集，是否知道雇主會如何使用這些數(shù)據(jù)？在工作場所安全性或生產(chǎn)力方面獲得的任何好處都可能因失去員工的信任而被抵消，而信任是企業(yè)成功的一個基本要素。在信任度高的企業(yè)中，員工的生產(chǎn)力更強(qiáng)，精力更旺盛，合作更好，忠誠度也更高；而在信任度低的企業(yè)中，員工感到權(quán)利被剝奪，變得不再敬業(yè)。不敬業(yè)的影響很大：據(jù)最近的估計，美國的企業(yè)每年因此蒙受的損失達(dá)4500億至5500億美元。

The dangers are real. But in some situations—for example, ensuring that the driver of a 40-ton truck is not falling asleep at the wheel—brain monitoring at work seems like a very good idea. It’s hard to argue that a driver’s right to mental privacy trumps public safety.

這些危險千真萬確。可是，在某些情況下——比如，確保40噸卡車的司機(jī)不會在駕駛時睡著——工作中的大腦監(jiān)測似乎是一個絕妙的主意。人們很難辯稱司機(jī)的精神隱私權(quán)勝過公共安全。

To navigate this territory successfully, business leaders need guidance. I’ve been studying this subject for years. I’m a professor of law and philosophy at Duke University, where I specialize in the legal and ethical issues of emerging technologies, with a particular focus on neurotechnology. I’ve also served as president of the International Neuroethics Society and cochair of the Neuroethics Working Group for the NIH Brain Initiative, and I currently serve as a neuroethicist for the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. In this article, I’ll provide an overview of the neurotechnology landscape and offer some thoughts on how to balance the risks and benefits of using neurotech devices in the workplace.

為了成功駕馭這一領(lǐng)域，企業(yè)領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者需要指導(dǎo)。多年來我一直在研究這個主題。我是杜克大學(xué)的法學(xué)及哲學(xué)教授，在該大學(xué)專門研究新興技術(shù)的法律和倫理問題，重點(diǎn)特別關(guān)注神經(jīng)技術(shù)。我還擔(dān)任過國際神經(jīng)倫理學(xué)會（International Neuroethics Society）的主席和美國國立衛(wèi)生研究院腦計劃神經(jīng)倫理學(xué)工作組（Neuroethics Working Group for the NIH Brain Initiative）的聯(lián)合主席，目前我擔(dān)任美國國家科學(xué)院、工程院和醫(yī)學(xué)院的神經(jīng)倫理學(xué)專家。在本文中，我會對神經(jīng)技術(shù)領(lǐng)域進(jìn)行概述，并就如何對工作場所使用神經(jīng)技術(shù)設(shè)備帶來的風(fēng)險和益處加以權(quán)衡提出一些想法。

It’s early days yet, but tens of thousands of workers are already using early-stage devices, and Big Tech is investing heavily to replace peripherals such as the computer mouse and the keyboard with neural interfaces integrated into headsets, earbuds, and wrist-worn devices. So now is the time to start thinking in practical terms about how best to engage with the world that’s opening before us, in ways that thoughtfully consider the interests of employees, employers, and society.

現(xiàn)在尚屬早期，但數(shù)以萬計的員工已經(jīng)在使用早期的設(shè)備，而且科技巨頭正在大力投資，用集成在耳機(jī)、耳塞和腕戴設(shè)備中的神經(jīng)接口取代電腦鼠標(biāo)和鍵盤等外圍設(shè)備。因此，現(xiàn)在是時候開始從實(shí)際出發(fā)，思考如何最好地與這個開啟在我們面前的世界打交道，方式上要周全地考慮員工、雇主和社會的利益。

The Lay of the Land

當(dāng)前形勢

Let’s start by taking stock of three ways in which neurotechnology is already being used in the workplace: to track fatigue, to monitor attention and focus, and to adapt the work environment to workers’ brains.

讓我們首先評估一下神經(jīng)技術(shù)已在工作場所使用的三種方式：跟蹤疲勞，監(jiān)測注意力和關(guān)注點(diǎn)，以及讓工作環(huán)境適應(yīng)員工的大腦。

Tracking fatigue.?In 2019, Tim Ekert, the CEO of SmartCap, made a bold proclamation. He announced that his company’s flagship tool—the LifeBand, a fatigue-tracking headband with embedded EEG sensors that can be worn alone or integrated into a hard hat or cap—would “transform the American trucking industry.”

跟蹤疲勞。2019年，SmartCap的CEO蒂姆·?？颂兀═im Ekert）發(fā)表了一個大膽的聲明。他宣布，他公司的旗艦工具——LifeBand，即一種跟蹤疲勞的頭帶，裝有嵌入式腦電圖傳感器，可以單獨(dú)佩戴，也可以集成到安全帽或帽子中——將“改變美國卡車運(yùn)輸業(yè)”。

The LifeBand gathers brain-wave data and processes it through SmartCap’s LifeApp, which uses proprietary algorithms to assess wearers’ fatigue level on a scale from 1 (hyperalert) to 5 (involuntary sleep). When the system detects that a worker is becoming dangerously drowsy, it sends an early warning to both the employee and the manager.

LifeBand收集腦電波數(shù)據(jù)，并通過SmartCap的LifeApp進(jìn)行處理，該應(yīng)用程序使用專有算法對佩戴者的疲勞程度進(jìn)行從1（超警醒）到5（不由自主睡眠）的評估。當(dāng)系統(tǒng)檢測到一名員工開始危險地昏昏欲睡時，它會同時向員工和管理者發(fā)出預(yù)警。

More than 5,000 companies worldwide, in industries such as mining, construction, trucking, and aviation, already use SmartCap to ensure that their employees are wide awake. SmartCap and similar EEG systems can be used in all sorts of employment settings where fatigue negatively affects safety—factory floors, air-traffic-control towers, operating rooms, laboratories, and so on. And safety isn’t the only concern: Fatigue also reduces motivation, concentration, and coordination. It slows reaction times, undermines judgment, and impairs workers’ ability to carry out even the simplest of mental and physical tasks. It causes some $136 billion in productivity losses a year.

全世界采礦、建筑、卡車運(yùn)輸和航空等行業(yè)的5000多家企業(yè)已使用SmartCap來確保員工完全清醒。SmartCap和類似的腦電圖系統(tǒng)可用于各種工作環(huán)境，疲勞在這些環(huán)境中會對安全產(chǎn)生負(fù)面影響——工廠車間、空中交通管制塔、手術(shù)室、實(shí)驗(yàn)室等等。安全并不是唯一的問題：疲勞還會降低動力、專注力和協(xié)調(diào)性。它會減慢反應(yīng)時間，削弱判斷力，并損害員工執(zhí)行哪怕最簡單的腦力和體力任務(wù)的能力。它每年會造成約1360億美元的生產(chǎn)力損失。

Fatigue also levies catastrophic costs on society. In Chicago, a transit authority train jumped its tracks entering a station at O’Hare International Airport after its driver fell asleep. The train careened onto an escalator, injuring 32 people. In New York, a sleep-deprived train engineer fell asleep while operating a commuter train from Poughkeepsie to Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan. The train took a 30-mph curve at 82 mph and derailed, killing four people, injuring 70, and causing millions of dollars in damage. In Citra, Florida, an engineer fell asleep while operating a train that was pulling 100 railcars full of phosphate and crashed head-on into a coal train. Thirty-two cars left the tracks, spilling 1,346 tons of coal, 1,150 tons of phosphate, 7,400 gallons of diesel fuel, and 77 gallons of battery acid. Aviation accidents are much less common; however, during the past few decades at least 16 major plane crashes have been blamed on pilot fatigue.

疲勞還給社會帶來了災(zāi)難性的損失。在芝加哥，一輛交通局的列車在進(jìn)入奧黑爾國際機(jī)場（O’Hare International Airport）的一個車站時因司機(jī)睡著而脫軌。火車側(cè)翻撞上了一個自動扶梯，造成32人受傷。在紐約，一名睡眠不足的火車工程師在操作一列從波基普西（Poughkeepsie）到曼哈頓中央車站的通勤列車時睡著了。該列火車以130公里的時速駛過一個限速每小時50公里的彎道并脫軌，造成4人死亡，70人受傷，并造成數(shù)百萬美元的損失。在佛羅里達(dá)州的錫特拉，一名工程師在操作一列拉著100節(jié)裝滿磷酸鹽的火車時睡著了，迎面撞上了一列運(yùn)煤火車。32節(jié)車廂脫軌，灑落了1346噸煤、1150噸磷酸鹽、7400加侖柴油和77加侖蓄電池酸液。航空事故要少得多；然而，在過去幾十年中，至少有16起重大空難歸咎于飛行員疲勞。

As neurotechnology and the algorithms for decoding brain activity continue to improve, neural interfaces will become the gold standard in monitoring fatigue in the workplace. Not just employers but society as a whole may soon decide that the gains in safety and productivity are well worth the costs in employee privacy. But how much we ultimately gain from workplace brain wearables depends largely on how employers use the technology. For example, will employees receive real-time feedback from the devices so that they can act on it themselves, or will managers directly monitor employee fatigue? If so, will they use that information to improve workplace conditions or to justify disciplinary actions, pay cuts, and terminations? The answers to those questions will shape the future of brain-wave monitoring.

隨著神經(jīng)技術(shù)和解碼大腦活動的算法不斷改進(jìn)，神經(jīng)接口將成為監(jiān)測工作場所疲勞的黃金標(biāo)準(zhǔn)。不僅雇主，而且整個社會可能很快就會判定，在安全性和生產(chǎn)力方面的收益非常值得在員工隱私方面付出代價。可是，我們最終能從工作場所的大腦可穿戴設(shè)備中獲得多少收益，在很大程度上取決于雇主如何使用該技術(shù)。比如，是員工會收到來自設(shè)備的實(shí)時反饋、以便根據(jù)反饋?zhàn)孕胁扇⌒袆樱€是說管理人員會直接監(jiān)測員工的疲勞？如果是后者，管理人員是會利用這些信息來改善工作場所條件，還是會為紀(jì)律處分、扣減工資和解雇員工提供理由？這些問題的答案將會影響腦電波監(jiān)測的未來。

Given the lack of societal norms and laws regarding tracking brain activity in general, for now companies are simply creating their own rules about fatigue monitoring. Some use SmartCap and similar technologies to optimize employees’ working conditions; others are likely to use the technologies punitively, because that’s typically how employers approach workplace surveillance. A recent study of companies that track how their employees use their computers found that 26% of employers had fired workers for misusing the internet, and 25% had fired them for misusing email. It’s not hard to imagine what might happen when firms are able to regularly monitor not just employees’ computers but also their brains.

鑒于有關(guān)追蹤大腦活動的社會規(guī)范和法律總體缺失，目前企業(yè)只是在制定自己的疲勞監(jiān)測規(guī)則。一些企業(yè)使用SmartCap和類似技術(shù)來優(yōu)化員工的工作條件；另一些企業(yè)可能會懲罰性地使用這些技術(shù)，因?yàn)檫@就是雇主通常對待工作場所監(jiān)控的方式。最近針對那些追蹤員工如何使用電腦的公司開展的一項(xiàng)研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，26%的雇主曾以濫用互聯(lián)網(wǎng)為由解雇過員工，25%的雇主曾以濫用電子郵件為由解雇過員工。不難想象，當(dāng)企業(yè)不僅能夠定期監(jiān)控員工的電腦，而且還能監(jiān)控他們的大腦時，可能會發(fā)生什么。

Monitoring attention and focus.?Many of us lack the ability to focus for long stretches at a time. But Olivier Oullier, a former president of the bioinformatic company Emotiv, believes that neurotechnology can help.

監(jiān)測注意力和專注力。我們中的許多人缺乏一次性長時間集中注意力的能力。但生物信息公司Emotiv的前總裁奧利維爾·烏利耶（Olivier Oullier）認(rèn)為，神經(jīng)技術(shù)可以提供幫助。

A few years ago, at the Fortune Global Tech Forum, Oullier unveiled the MN8, Emotiv’s enterprise solution for attention management. The MN8 looks like a set of standard earbuds (and can in fact be used to listen to music or participate in conference calls). But with just two electrodes, one in each ear, the device allows employers to monitor employees’ stress and attention levels in real time.

幾年前，在“《財富》全球技術(shù)論壇”（Fortune Global Tech Forum）上，烏利耶公布了Emotiv的注意力管理企業(yè)解決方案MN8。MN8看起來像一副標(biāo)準(zhǔn)的耳塞（事實(shí)上可以用來聽音樂或參加電話會議）。不過，這個設(shè)備僅用兩個電極，每只耳朵里一個，就可以讓雇主實(shí)時監(jiān)測員工的壓力和注意力水平。

Emotiv teamed up with the German software company SAP to create Focus UX, a system that monitors employees’ brain states and in real time shares personalized feedback with them and their managers. SAP predicts that this will create a more responsive workplace environment in which employees focus on what they are best “able to handle at that moment.”

Emotiv與德國軟件公司SAP合作創(chuàng)建了Focus UX系統(tǒng)，該系統(tǒng)可以監(jiān)測員工的大腦狀態(tài)，并實(shí)時與他們和他們的上司分享個性化的反饋。SAP預(yù)測，這將創(chuàng)造一個響應(yīng)性更強(qiáng)的工作環(huán)境，員工在此環(huán)境中專注于他們“在那一刻最能夠處理”的事情。

To illustrate how the system works, Oullier described a hypothetical situation. A data scientist wearing the MN8 has spent several hours videoconferencing with her team and is now reviewing code. The system has used her alpha-brain-wave activity to index the attentive state in her brain. The proprietary algorithm sees that her attention is flagging, so it sends a message to her laptop: “Christina, it’s time for a break. Do you want to take a short walk or do a five-minute guided meditation to reset your focus?”

為了說明該系統(tǒng)是如何工作的，烏利耶描述了一種假設(shè)的情形。一位佩戴MN8的數(shù)據(jù)科學(xué)家花了幾個小時與團(tuán)隊進(jìn)行視頻會議，現(xiàn)在正在審查代碼。該系統(tǒng)已經(jīng)使用她的阿爾法腦電波活動觀察到她大腦的專注狀態(tài)。專有的算法發(fā)現(xiàn)她的注意力正在下降，所以向她的筆記本電腦發(fā)送了一條信息：“克里斯蒂娜，該休息了。你是希望散散步還是做五分鐘的冥想來恢復(fù)你的專注力？”

Focus UX data can be used to evaluate employees’ cognitive loads, compare individuals across the workforce, and make decisions about how to optimize the workforce for productivity. It can also help inform decisions about promotion, retention, and firing. Other companies offer similar technology. For example, Lockheed Martin’s CogC2 (short for Cognitive Command and Control) provides firms with real-time neurophysiological assessments of employees’ workloads so that they can “optimize their workforce for increased productivity and improved employee satisfaction.” It’s now even possible to use EEG to classify the type of activity an individual is engaged in, according to research funded by the Bavarian State Ministry of Education. As pattern classification of brain-wave data becomes more sophisticated, employers will be able to tell not just whether you are alert or your mind is wandering but also whether you are surfing social media or writing code.

Focus UX數(shù)據(jù)可以用來評估員工的認(rèn)知負(fù)荷，對員工隊伍中的個體進(jìn)行比較，并做出如何優(yōu)化員工隊伍、提高生產(chǎn)力的決策。它還可以幫助影響有關(guān)晉升、留人和解雇的決定。其他公司也提供類似的技術(shù)。比如，洛克希德馬丁公司（Lockheed Martin）的CogC2（Cognitive Command and Control，認(rèn)知指揮與控制）向企業(yè)提供對員工工作量的實(shí)時神經(jīng)生理學(xué)評估，以便企業(yè)能夠“優(yōu)化員工隊伍，提高生產(chǎn)力并提升員工滿意度”。根據(jù)巴伐利亞州教育部資助的研究，現(xiàn)在甚至有可能使用腦電圖來對個人所從事的活動類型進(jìn)行分類。隨著腦電波數(shù)據(jù)的圖形分類變得愈加復(fù)雜，雇主將不僅能夠分辨出你是精神警醒還是心不在焉，而且能夠分辨你是在瀏覽社交媒體還是在寫代碼。

Employers might soon even be able to nudge employees back to work when their minds start to wander. The MIT Media Lab has developed a system called AttentivU, which measures a person’s engagement via EEG sensors embedded in a pair of glasses and a wearable scarf. The device provides haptic feedback (usually a form of vibration) whenever the wearer’s engagement declines. Researchers found that people who received haptic feedback logged higher alertness scores than those who didn’t. While the Media Lab is excited about the results, it acknowledges the risk for misuse, saying it hopes “no one will be forced to use this system, whether in work or school settings.”

雇主甚至可能很快就能在員工開始走神時提醒他們回到工作上來。麻省理工學(xué)院媒體實(shí)驗(yàn)室（MIT Media Lab）開發(fā)了一個名為AttentivU的系統(tǒng)，它通過嵌在一副眼鏡和一條可穿戴圍巾中的腦電圖傳感器來測量一個人的參與度。每當(dāng)佩戴者的參與度下降時，該設(shè)備就會提供觸覺反饋（通常是一種振動形式）。研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)，收到觸覺反饋的人比沒有收到的人記錄了更高的警醒度分?jǐn)?shù)。雖然媒體實(shí)驗(yàn)室對這一結(jié)果興奮不已，但它也承認(rèn)存在濫用的風(fēng)險，并表示，它希望“沒有人會被迫使用這一系統(tǒng)，無論是在工作環(huán)境還是學(xué)校環(huán)境中”。

Some employees may volunteer to use such systems, which have the potential to improve their productivity while giving them control over their brain-activity data. This could allow them to reap the benefits of better time management without any sacrifice of autonomy. As with other neurofeedback approaches, self-monitoring for productivity could also help employees establish better work habits as they learn when and why they get distracted.

一些員工可能會自愿使用這種系統(tǒng)，這有可能提高他們的生產(chǎn)力，同時讓他們掌控自己的大腦活動數(shù)據(jù)。這可以讓他們在不犧牲自主性的情況下受益于更好的時間管理。與其他神經(jīng)反饋方法一樣，自我監(jiān)測生產(chǎn)力也可以幫助員工建立更好的工作習(xí)慣，因?yàn)樗麄兛梢垣@知自己何時以及為何分心。

The problem is that some organizations may be tempted to impose brain-productivity technology on workers and make attention the currency of productivity measurement. A recent Brookings Institution report found that some companies are now using webcams to track eye movements, body position, and facial expressions as measures of attentiveness to tasks, and are reprimanding employees for inattentiveness on the basis of that data. While that kind of monitoring has become increasingly common, especially with the shift to remote work, using attentiveness as a yardstick for employee success may seriously backfire for employers. As Albert Einstein and Isaac Newton both acknowledged, creative ideas depend as much on minds wandering as staying on task. And research across 900 Boston Consulting Group teams in 30 countries has shown that mental downtime increases alertness, improves creativity, and leads to greater output quality. When workers know their attention is being monitored, they may attempt to minimize mental downtime—by doing things to actively bring their attention and focus back to the task at hand—out of a fear of appearing unproductive.

問題是，一些企業(yè)可能禁不住會將“大腦-生產(chǎn)力”技術(shù)強(qiáng)加給員工，使注意力成為衡量生產(chǎn)力的手段。布魯金斯學(xué)會（Brookings Institution）最近的一份報告發(fā)現(xiàn)，一些企業(yè)現(xiàn)在正在使用網(wǎng)絡(luò)攝像頭來跟蹤眼球運(yùn)動、身體位置和面部表情，將其作為衡量任務(wù)專注度的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)，并根據(jù)這些數(shù)據(jù)指斥員工漫不經(jīng)心。雖然這種監(jiān)測已經(jīng)變得日漸普遍，尤其是在人們轉(zhuǎn)向遠(yuǎn)程工作之際，但把專注度當(dāng)作衡量員工成功與否的尺度，對雇主來說可能會造成嚴(yán)重的適得其反的后果。正如阿爾伯特·愛因斯坦（Albert Einstein）和艾薩克·牛頓（IsaacNewton）都承認(rèn)的那樣，創(chuàng)造性的想法既仰賴思維的游移，也仰賴對任務(wù)的執(zhí)著。對波士頓咨詢集團(tuán)（Boston Consulting Group）在30個國家的900個團(tuán)隊進(jìn)行的研究表明，精神上的休息會提高警醒度，提升創(chuàng)造力，并導(dǎo)致更高的產(chǎn)出質(zhì)量。員工知道自己的注意力受到監(jiān)控時，可能會試圖盡量減少精神休息時間——通過做一些事情來主動將注意力和專注焦點(diǎn)拽回到手頭的任務(wù)上——因?yàn)樗麄儞?dān)心自己會顯得沒有生產(chǎn)力。

It’s not just employees’ productivity that can suffer. It’s their health too. When employees lack mental downtime, they often experience serious job strain, which has been strongly linked to a variety of health problems: depression and anxiety, ulcers, cardiovascular trouble, and even suicidal thoughts.

可能受到影響的不僅僅是員工的生產(chǎn)力。他們的健康也可能蒙受損失。當(dāng)員工缺乏精神休息時，他們通常會感受到嚴(yán)重的工作壓力，這與各種健康問題密切相關(guān)：抑郁癥和焦慮癥、潰瘍、心血管問題，甚至自殺的想法。

Workplace brain surveillance to monitor levels of attention, stress, and other cognitive and emotional functions has stark and significant downsides. It has potential benefits, too, including enhanced employee productivity. But at this point these benefits are purely speculative, so for now I’d recommend that employers steer clear of engaging in this type of brain surveillance.

工作場所的大腦監(jiān)控旨在監(jiān)測注意力、壓力和其他認(rèn)知與情感功能水平，它存在顯而易見的缺點(diǎn)。它也具有潛在的好處，包括員工生產(chǎn)力的提高。不過，在這個時候，這些好處純屬推測，所以現(xiàn)在我要建議雇主避免從事這種類型的大腦監(jiān)控。

Creating more-adaptive work environments.?As neurotechnology, AI, and robotics continue to advance, we can expect a future in which brain-activity neural-interface devices are used to make the workplace more adaptive. Penn State researchers, for example, are experimenting with EEG headsets for employees that provide input to robots, which then calibrate their pace of work to the employees’ state of mind. In one experiment, participants wore EEG headsets that monitored their cognitive loads and detected signs of stress. Their robotic coworkers reacted to the data by slowing down, speeding up, or keeping a steady pace, giving the workers just the right amount of room to maximize their productivity without stressing them out.

創(chuàng)造更具適應(yīng)性的工作環(huán)境。隨著神經(jīng)技術(shù)、人工智能和機(jī)器人技術(shù)的不斷進(jìn)步，我們可以期待，在未來，大腦活動的神經(jīng)接口設(shè)備得以用來令工作場所更具適應(yīng)性。比如，賓夕法尼亞州立大學(xué)的研究人員正在試驗(yàn)員工用的腦電圖耳機(jī)，它可以向機(jī)器人提供信息，然后，機(jī)器人根據(jù)員工的精神狀態(tài)校準(zhǔn)其工作節(jié)奏。在一項(xiàng)實(shí)驗(yàn)中，參與者戴上了腦電圖耳機(jī)，監(jiān)測他們的認(rèn)知負(fù)荷，并檢測壓力的跡象。他們的機(jī)器人同事會放慢、加快或保持穩(wěn)定的工作節(jié)奏，以此來對這些數(shù)據(jù)做出反應(yīng)，從而為員工提供恰到好處的空間，最大限度地提高他們的生產(chǎn)力，而不會使他們感到緊張。

Other researchers have found that EEG sensors could help monitor and address the greater cognitive load that assembly workers bear as automation becomes the norm in industrial settings and they are tasked with increasingly complex assembly procedures. In one recent study, researchers in Belgium had participants perform assembly tasks in a simulated factory setting while being subjected to varying levels of cognitive load (low, high, and overload). The researchers found that by tracking EEG activity and eye movements, they could differentiate between a high cognitive load and cognitive overload, which can produce errors, safety hazards, and detrimental health effects on workers. Smart manufacturing systems of the future could automatically adapt production levels to allow for higher cognitive loads while avoiding overload, ushering in a new era of “cognitive ergonomics.”

其他研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)，隨著自動化成為工業(yè)環(huán)境中的常態(tài)，而且裝配工人承擔(dān)的任務(wù)有著越來越復(fù)雜的裝配程序，腦電圖傳感器可以幫助監(jiān)測和解決他們承受的更大認(rèn)知負(fù)荷。在最近的一項(xiàng)研究中，比利時的研究人員讓參與者在模擬的工廠環(huán)境中執(zhí)行裝配任務(wù)，同時承受不同程度的認(rèn)知負(fù)荷（低、高及超負(fù)荷）。研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)，通過跟蹤腦電圖活動和眼球運(yùn)動，他們可以區(qū)分高負(fù)荷認(rèn)知和超負(fù)荷認(rèn)知，超負(fù)荷認(rèn)知可能會造成錯誤、安全隱患，并對員工的健康產(chǎn)生有害影響。未來的智能制造系統(tǒng)可以自動調(diào)整生產(chǎn)水平，以成就更高的認(rèn)知負(fù)荷，同時避免超負(fù)荷，從而開創(chuàng)一個“認(rèn)知工效學(xué)”的新時代。

Some companies are already implementing changes to the workplace in accordance with feedback from employees’ brains. Microsoft’s Human Factors team, for example, has helped the company adapt its office environments and products to be more responsive to workers’ brain health and functioning. Company researchers asked 13 teams of two employees to complete similar tasks together in person and remotely and found that remote collaboration led to greater stress levels in the brain. A second study of employees’ brains in back-to-back video meetings versus in-person meetings found that the former were more cognitively stressful.

一些企業(yè)根據(jù)員工大腦的反饋已經(jīng)在落實(shí)工作場所的改變。比如，微軟的“人性因素”（Human Factors）團(tuán)隊已經(jīng)幫助該公司調(diào)整了辦公環(huán)境和產(chǎn)品，使之更適應(yīng)員工的大腦健康和功能運(yùn)轉(zhuǎn)。公司研究人員要求13個由兩名員工組成的團(tuán)隊以當(dāng)面和遠(yuǎn)程的方式一起完成類似的任務(wù)，結(jié)果發(fā)現(xiàn)，遠(yuǎn)程協(xié)作在大腦中產(chǎn)生的壓力水平更高。員工在進(jìn)行背對背視頻會議與面對面會議時，對其大腦進(jìn)行的第二項(xiàng)研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，前者的認(rèn)知壓力更大。

In response, Microsoft introduced Together mode, a feature in Teams that gives meeting participants a shared background to simulate a shared physical space while collaborating. Initial results are promising: Brain activity of participants in Together mode reflected a lower cognitive burden compared with that of participants using the traditional grid view of online meetings.

作為回應(yīng)，微軟推出了“共處”（Together）模式，這是Teams軟件的一項(xiàng)功能，它為會議參與者提供了一個共享背景，以便模擬協(xié)作時的共享實(shí)體空間。初步結(jié)果讓人看到了希望：與使用傳統(tǒng)網(wǎng)格視圖的在線會議參與者相比，在“共處”模式下，參與者的大腦活動表現(xiàn)出更低的認(rèn)知負(fù)擔(dān)。

The Human Factors team also discovered a simple yet powerful way to address meeting fatigue. By monitoring the brain-wave activity of employees who volunteered to participate, the team learned that people who took short breaks between meetings had lower levels of stress compared with people attending back-to-back meetings. Providing guided brain-wave-based meditation during the breaks also improved well-being and the ability to focus in subsequent meetings.

“人性因素”團(tuán)隊還發(fā)現(xiàn)了一個簡單而強(qiáng)效的方法來解決會議疲勞。通過監(jiān)測自愿參與的員工的腦電波活動，該團(tuán)隊了解到，與參加背對背會議的人相比，在會議之間短暫休息了一下的人壓力水平更低。如果在休息期間提供了基于腦電波的指導(dǎo)性冥想，幸福感和在隨后的會議中集中注意力的能力也提高了。

Cognitive ergonomics—making the workplace safer, more responsive, and more adaptive to employees’ well-being—represents one of the most promising new applications of neurotechnology. In my view, companies should embrace opportunities to experiment with it.

認(rèn)知工效學(xué)——令工作場所更安全、反應(yīng)更迅速、更有益于員工的幸福感——代表了神經(jīng)技術(shù)最有前途的新應(yīng)用之一。在我看來，企業(yè)應(yīng)該抓住機(jī)會進(jìn)行試驗(yàn)。

Using Brain Wearables Responsibly

負(fù)責(zé)任地使用腦部可穿戴設(shè)備

To reap the maximum benefits from brain wearables in the workplace while minimizing the risks, firms must adopt policies and practices that specify how and when they are used. To start, this will require action in five key areas.

為了從工作場所的腦部可穿戴設(shè)備中最大程度獲益，同時將風(fēng)險降至最低，企業(yè)必須采取一些政策和做法，規(guī)定這些設(shè)備如何以及何時使用。首先，這需要在五個關(guān)鍵領(lǐng)域采取行動。

1. Employee rights.?Employees have a right to mental privacy. Governments should codify that as part of the international human right to privacy. A right to mental privacy would place the burden on corporations to identify a specific use for brain wearables that is limited in scope to legitimate purposes, such as monitoring fatigue in commercial drivers or tracking attention in air traffic controllers. A right to mental privacy would also prohibit unauthorized access to other brain-wave data that may be collected incidentally during legal monitoring. Even then, companies should be prohibited from using data for any purpose other than the one it was originally gathered for.

1.員工權(quán)利。員工擁有精神隱私權(quán)。各國政府應(yīng)將其列為國際隱私權(quán)的一部分。精神隱私權(quán)將令企業(yè)肩負(fù)起責(zé)任，確定腦部可穿戴設(shè)備的具體用途，其范圍僅限于合法目的，如監(jiān)測商業(yè)司機(jī)的疲勞狀況或跟蹤空中交通管制員的注意力。精神隱私權(quán)還會禁止未經(jīng)授權(quán)就訪問在合法監(jiān)測期間可能附帶收集的其他腦電波數(shù)據(jù)。即便如此，企業(yè)也應(yīng)該被禁止將數(shù)據(jù)用于任何非當(dāng)初收集的目的。

2. Privacy laws and regulation.?Employers should stay abreast of biometrics privacy laws and implement policies consistent with their requirements. The collection of brain-wave data is or soon will be subject to stringent privacy laws and regulatory requirements in some U.S. jurisdictions. The failure to obtain prior written consent and provide adequate disclosure to employees can have costly financial and reputational implications for employers. In October 2022, for example, employees in a class-action lawsuit that included nearly 45,000 people were awarded $228 million in a jury verdict against BNSF Railway, one of the largest freight railroad networks in North America, because it had collected and stored fingerprint data in violation of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act. Given the unique liability risks associated with the collection of biometric brain data, companies planning to introduce neurotechnology in the workplace should carefully consider laws enacted in various U.S. states and in other countries, including the General Data Protection Regulation in Europe.

2.隱私法律和法規(guī)。雇主應(yīng)該了解生物識別隱私法律的最新進(jìn)展，并實(shí)施符合其要求的政策。在美國的一些司法管轄區(qū)，腦電波數(shù)據(jù)的收集現(xiàn)在或不久就會受到嚴(yán)格的隱私法律和監(jiān)管要求的約束。如果不能事先獲得書面同意并向員工提供充分的信息披露，這可能會給雇主帶來代價高昂的財務(wù)和聲譽(yù)影響。比如，2022年10月，在一起涉及近4.5萬人的集體訴訟中，陪審團(tuán)裁決，北美最大的貨運(yùn)鐵路網(wǎng)之一的BNSF鐵路公司向員工賠償2.28億美元，因?yàn)樗`反了伊利諾伊州生物識別信息隱私法（Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act），收集并儲存了指紋數(shù)據(jù)。鑒于收集大腦生物識別數(shù)據(jù)具有相關(guān)的獨(dú)特責(zé)任風(fēng)險，計劃在工作場所引入神經(jīng)技術(shù)的企業(yè)應(yīng)該仔細(xì)考慮美國各州和其他國家頒布的法律，包括歐洲的《通用數(shù)據(jù)保護(hù)條例》（General Data Protection Regulation）。

3. Terms of use.?When appropriate, employers should offer employees the opportunity to use brain wearables at work to monitor their own levels of stress, waning attention, or increasing cognitive load. Companies may also choose to offer guided meditation and other neurofeedback tools to employees who would like to improve their well-being. If employees elect to use those tools, firms should not access or mine the neural data collected, unless employees explicitly consent to its use for a specified purpose. Employees must have a right to obtain a copy of any neural data collected about them, along with any interpretations drawn from it. To use these tools without consent constitutes a breach of trust, undermining the value they would otherwise create. Giving employees the right to audit their own brain data can help build trust and ensure that only relevant and legitimate brain data is collected. It also provides a check on the quality of the data being collected and an opportunity for employees to challenge invalid interpretations.

3.使用條件。在合適的時候，雇主應(yīng)該為員工提供在工作中使用腦部可穿戴設(shè)備的機(jī)會，以監(jiān)測他們自己的壓力水平、注意力減弱程度或認(rèn)知負(fù)荷增加程度。企業(yè)也可以選擇向希望提升幸福感的員工提供指導(dǎo)性的冥想和其他神經(jīng)反饋工具。如果員工選擇使用這些工具，企業(yè)不應(yīng)訪問或挖掘收集的神經(jīng)數(shù)據(jù)，除非員工明確同意將其用于特定目的。對于收集到的任何神經(jīng)數(shù)據(jù)，員工必須有權(quán)獲得一份副本，以及由此得出的任何解釋。未經(jīng)同意使用這些工具會構(gòu)成失信，從而破壞它們原本可以創(chuàng)造的價值。賦予員工審核自己大腦數(shù)據(jù)的權(quán)利有助于建立信任，并確保只有相關(guān)和合法的大腦數(shù)據(jù)才會被收集。它還對正在收集的數(shù)據(jù)提供了質(zhì)檢，并為員工提供了質(zhì)疑無效解釋的機(jī)會。

4. Disclosure.?Regardless of biometric-data-collection laws or other regulations, employers should be transparent with employees about what data they’re collecting from brain wearable devices and how they intend to use that information. They should specify the purpose for which brain data is being collected and what actions they will take in response to insights drawn from it. They should also collect data from brain wearables only when the employee is working. If, for example, an employer issues headphones embedded with EEG sensors, and the employee is permitted to use those headphones not just for work but also for leisure activities, employers should not collect neural data during “off” hours.

4.信息披露。無論生物識別數(shù)據(jù)收集的法律或其他法規(guī)是否存在，雇主都應(yīng)該向員工公開他們從腦部可穿戴設(shè)備中收集了哪些數(shù)據(jù)，以及他們打算如何使用這些信息。他們應(yīng)該具體說明收集大腦數(shù)據(jù)的目的，以及他們將采取什么行動來回應(yīng)從中得出的見解。他們還應(yīng)該僅在員工工作時通過腦部可穿戴設(shè)備收集數(shù)據(jù)。比如，如果雇主發(fā)放嵌入腦電圖傳感器的耳機(jī)，并且員工獲許不僅可以將這些耳機(jī)用于工作，而且可以用于休閑活動，那么雇主就不應(yīng)該在 “非工作”時間收集神經(jīng)數(shù)據(jù)。

5. Storing brain data.?Employers should adopt best practices for data minimization and store brain data on employees’ own devices and not on servers of device manufacturers, software companies, or employers whenever possible. This is critical. People associate their sense of self most closely with the information in their own minds, which makes neural data particularly sensitive. As machine-learning algorithms improve, the ability to mine and interpret neural data will also improve, enabling firms to learn far more about what employees are feeling or thinking and about cognitive or affective changes to their brains over time. Employers should adopt security safeguards against the risk of unauthorized access, destruction, disclosure, or use of neural data. For example, companies should make sure that brain data is “overwritten” once its limited purpose has been served.

5.儲存大腦數(shù)據(jù)。雇主應(yīng)采用數(shù)據(jù)最小化的最佳做法，盡可能將大腦數(shù)據(jù)存儲在員工自己的設(shè)備上，而不是存儲在設(shè)備制造商、軟件公司或雇主的服務(wù)器上。這一點(diǎn)至關(guān)重要。人們會將自己的自我意識與自己頭腦中的信息最緊密地聯(lián)系起來，這使得神經(jīng)數(shù)據(jù)特別敏感。隨著機(jī)器學(xué)習(xí)算法的改進(jìn)，挖掘和解釋神經(jīng)數(shù)據(jù)的能力也會提升，從而讓企業(yè)能夠更多地了解員工的感受或想法，以及隨著時間推移他們大腦的認(rèn)知或情感的變化。雇主應(yīng)采取安全保護(hù)措施，防止未經(jīng)授權(quán)訪問、破壞、披露或使用神經(jīng)數(shù)據(jù)的風(fēng)險。比如，企業(yè)應(yīng)該確保大腦數(shù)據(jù)在其有限的目的達(dá)成之后被“覆蓋”。

Neural interfaces will increasingly compete with existing peripheral devices to become one of the primary ways people interact with technology, offering firms powerful new insights into employees and their well-being, and revealing ways to make workplaces safer and more productive. To realize those benefits, employers must understand the unique risks this technology poses to mental privacy and adopt clear workplace policies that empower employees and earn the trust of the future workforce.

神經(jīng)接口將越來越多地與現(xiàn)有的外圍設(shè)備競爭，成為人們與技術(shù)互動的主要方式之一，為企業(yè)提供有關(guān)員工及其幸福感的強(qiáng)有力的新見解，并揭示出令工作場所更安全、更具生產(chǎn)力的方法。為了實(shí)現(xiàn)這些好處，雇主必須了解這種技術(shù)對精神隱私構(gòu)成的獨(dú)特風(fēng)險，并采取明確的工作場所政策，賦予員工權(quán)力，贏得未來員工隊伍的信任。

?永年 | 譯?? 蔣薈蓉 | 校?? 時青靖 | 編輯

妮塔·法拉哈尼是杜克大學(xué)法學(xué)及哲學(xué)羅賓遜·埃弗里特特聘教授（Robinson O. Everett Distinguished Professor），也是研究新興技術(shù)的倫理、法律和社會影響的學(xué)者。她著有《為你的大腦而戰(zhàn)：在神經(jīng)技術(shù)時代捍衛(wèi)自由思考的權(quán)利》（The Battle for Your Brain: Defending the Right to Think Freely in the Age of Neurotechnology，圣馬丁出版社，2023年）一書，本文改編自該著作。