The Tech We Want for Our Brain Commons – Open Knowledge Foundation

How can we ensure that the emerging brain commons remains open, accountable and governed in the public interest?

Commercial brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) are rapidly moving beyond research laboratories into consumer markets, workplaces, healthcare, education and entertainment. The decisions made today about how these technologies are designed, governed and deployed will influence whether they become open tools that expand human agency or closed infrastructures that concentrate power over our cognitive lives.

Part of The Tech We Want initiative by the Open Knowledge Foundation (OKFN), this event brings together researchers, developers, policymakers, journalists, civil society and industry to explore how openness can help shape a future in which neurotechnology remains transparent, accountable and aligned with democratic values.

Our discussions will examine how openness in hardware, software, data and governance can strengthen existing protections, foster innovation, enable public oversight and preserve individual autonomy.

Join us:

🗓️ Wednesday, 15 July 2026
🕐 13:00 — 19:00 CEST
📍 Online, free of charge

Register now

[Speakers will be announced soon]

13:00 CEST	Opening Remarks The Open BCI Project and why commercial neurotechnology matters now.
13:30 CEST	[Demo Session] Open Neurotechnology in Practice Practical examples of open neurotechnology, including open-source hardware, software, community projects and research tools. Do you want to feature a project? Apply Now → Open Call for Demos
14:30 CEST	[Panel] Understanding the BCI Stack: Where Openness Matters Before discussing governance, there is a need for a common understanding of how commercial BCIs actually function. This session unpacks the complete technology stack, from sensors and firmware through machine learning, cloud services and applications, including emerging AI integrations and identifies where openness or enclosure determines who ultimately controls the technology.
15:30 CEST	[Panel] Governing the Brain Commons: Openness as Public Infrastructure As neurotechnology becomes part of everyday life, governance cannot rely solely on privacy discussions or future legislation. This panel explores how openness can support accountability through interoperability, transparency, procurement, competition, scientific scrutiny and public oversight. Speakers will emphasise practical governance mechanisms that can be implemented today using existing institutions and legal frameworks.
16:45 UTC	Break
17:00 UTC	[Keynote] Freedom of Thought in the Age of Neurotechnology This keynote broadens the conversation beyond technology and governance to consider the societal implications of technologies that increasingly interact with our minds. Rather than discussing legal doctrine, it examines freedom of thought as the foundation of democracy, creativity and human dignity, reflecting on the responsibilities that accompany technologies capable of influencing cognition, attention and behaviour.
18:00 UTC	[Keynote] The Future of Freedom of Thought: Keeping Human Agency Open As neurotechnologies move from laboratories into everyday life, how do we ensure they strengthen rather than erode the human capacity to think freely, make autonomous choices and participate in open societies? This keynote explores why cognitive freedom is not only an individual concern but a cornerstone of democracy, creativity and social trust. Therefore, openness is not simply a technical characteristic but a democratic commitment to preserving human agency in the next generation of digital infrastructure.

This is an open online event free of charge. We welcome registrations from everyone who is interested in taking a critical look at current technologies.

Register now

For questions and queries regarding the programme or any aspect of registration process, please contact info@okfn.org.

The Tech We Want for Our Brain Commons is organised by:

The Open Knowledge Foundation (OKFN) believes knowledge should be accessible to everyone. That is why we advance open content, data and technology for over 20 years. We build and maintain digital infrastructure and digital public goods that anyone can use, and we encourage truly open collaboration and purposeful innovation, including for AI and other frontier technologies. OKFN is the organisation behind the AI Learning Labs, Open Definition, Open Data Commons, School of Data, and tools like CKAN, Frictionless Data and the Open Data Editor. Our work supports a fair, safe, and sustainable internet for all.

The Tech We Want is a collective conversation about new practical ways to build software that is useful, simple, long-lasting and focused on solving people's real problems.

Since 2023, OKFN has been advocating together with the community of developers working on public-interest technologies for climate-friendly, accessible and sustainable approaches to technology. Understanding the potential ecological and societal impacts of various development decisions is the first step towards another stack with different metrics, community practices and guidelines.