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Is There A Place In Human Consciousness Where Surveillance Cannot Go? Noor: A Brain Opera Ellen Pearlman School of Creative Media, Hong Kong City University, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong [email protected] Abstract. A plethora of global initiatives whose goal is to map every neuron in the human brain are underway (Society For Neuroscience 2015). These investigations have releases an abundance of new technologies, research and methods. They also raise questions concerning privacy, surveillance, autonomy and consciousness. Are we nothing more than our electroencephalographs (EEGs), functional magnetic resonance images (fMRIs) and other biometric data? In the future could this information be used for security identification, thought reeducation and manipulating memories? Currently, new types of consumer-grade brain sensors are being developed for medical applications, though they are also appropriated for artistic explorations. What kind of dramatic structures, interventions, methodologies and contexts will emerge as the brain itself begins to drive the performance experience? To metaphorically respond to these questions I have developed an interactive ‘brain opera’ Noor (which translates as ‘light’ in Arabic) based on a simple question, “Is there a place in human consciousness where surveillance cannot go?” Keywords: posthuman, consciousness, brain, surveillance, EEG, HCI, brain mapping, BCI Introduction There has been a rise in the use of consumer-grade electroencephalograph (EEG) brain readers, or Brain Computer Interfaces (BCIs) by contemporary artists (Duenyas 2012), (Abramovic 2011), (Park 2013), (Withers 2015), creating interactive performances based on tracked and readable states of mind. During the 1960s and 1970s, musicians Alvin Lucier, Richard Teitelbaum and David Rosenboom experimented with the control sources of biofeedback and brainwaves producing sonic events that played up, enhanced and completely reinvented their original source material. Lucier collaborated with physicist Edmund Dewant, making Music for Solo Performer (Lucier 1965), the first brainwave music composition performance using EEG electrodes. In the 1973 film Homage to John Cage by video artist Nam June Paik (1973), Cage wore electrodes strapped to his forehead while Paik fiddled with the knobs on a transmission wave box. That same year artist Nina Sobell created ‘brain wave drawings (Sobell 1974). These initial experiments validated the brain as a device that could produce music and art, usually through the specific mental states of focus and meditation measured by an alpha or beta wave signal. These signals are the one artists employ throughout most of their presentations. When more complex environments and more sophisticated brain EEG readers are used, additional mental states can be accessed, opening up new spheres of inquiry in the performance environment. Brain Performance As Surveillance Watching a subject’s brainwaves live time can mimic the performance theater of a surveillance state, whether it is simulated in the proscenium or observed by faceless, anonymous monitors during surreptitious interrogations. Performance itself has a long tradition of spectatorship and voyeurism, and of revealing hidden motives and intentions. Now brainwave readings are beginning to be stored in private data banks and scattered throughout the computing cloud (Leborgne 2015) (Syntrogi/Qusp 2016). Smoothing algorithms about various biometric states can currently quantifiably categorize that information. When personal data expands to include brain states, the ability to classify and sort information according to desirable outcomes implies a new type of control and discrimination. Imprints of our actions can wind up in the hands of the wrong people (McGrath 2004). This categorization facilitates tiers of privilege and access that could be selectively doled out to different individuals and groups. This new landscape or ‘surveillance space’ also

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Page 1: Is There A Place In Human Consciousness Where Surveillance

IsThereAPlaceInHumanConsciousnessWhereSurveillanceCannotGo?Noor:ABrainOpera

EllenPearlman

SchoolofCreativeMedia,HongKongCityUniversity,KowloonTong,[email protected]

Abstract.Aplethoraofglobalinitiativeswhosegoalistomapeveryneuroninthehumanbrainareunderway(SocietyForNeuroscience2015).Theseinvestigationshavereleasesanabundanceofnewtechnologies,researchandmethods.Theyalsoraisequestionsconcerningprivacy,surveillance,autonomyandconsciousness.Arewenothingmorethanourelectroencephalographs(EEGs),functionalmagneticresonanceimages(fMRIs)andotherbiometricdata?Inthefuturecouldthisinformationbeusedforsecurityidentification,thoughtreeducationandmanipulatingmemories?Currently,newtypesofconsumer-gradebrainsensorsarebeingdevelopedformedicalapplications,thoughtheyarealsoappropriatedforartisticexplorations.Whatkindofdramaticstructures,interventions,methodologiesandcontextswillemergeasthebrainitselfbeginstodrivetheperformanceexperience?TometaphoricallyrespondtothesequestionsIhavedevelopedaninteractive‘brainopera’Noor(whichtranslatesas‘light’inArabic)basedonasimplequestion,“Isthereaplaceinhumanconsciousnesswheresurveillancecannotgo?”

Keywords:posthuman,consciousness,brain,surveillance,EEG,HCI,brainmapping,BCI

IntroductionTherehasbeenariseintheuseofconsumer-gradeelectroencephalograph(EEG)brainreaders,orBrainComputerInterfaces(BCIs)bycontemporaryartists(Duenyas2012),(Abramovic2011),(Park2013),(Withers2015),creatinginteractiveperformancesbasedontrackedandreadablestatesofmind.Duringthe1960sand1970s,musiciansAlvinLucier,RichardTeitelbaumandDavidRosenboomexperimentedwiththecontrolsourcesofbiofeedbackandbrainwavesproducingsoniceventsthatplayedup,enhancedandcompletelyreinventedtheiroriginalsourcematerial.LuciercollaboratedwithphysicistEdmundDewant,makingMusicforSoloPerformer(Lucier1965),thefirstbrainwavemusiccompositionperformanceusingEEGelectrodes.Inthe1973filmHomagetoJohnCagebyvideoartistNamJunePaik(1973),CageworeelectrodesstrappedtohisforeheadwhilePaikfiddledwiththeknobsonatransmissionwavebox.ThatsameyearartistNinaSobellcreated‘brainwavedrawings(Sobell1974).Theseinitialexperimentsvalidatedthebrainasadevicethatcouldproducemusicandart,usuallythroughthespecificmentalstatesoffocusandmeditationmeasuredbyanalphaorbetawavesignal.Thesesignalsaretheoneartistsemploythroughoutmostoftheirpresentations.WhenmorecomplexenvironmentsandmoresophisticatedbrainEEGreadersareused,additionalmentalstatescanbeaccessed,openingupnewspheresofinquiryintheperformanceenvironment.

BrainPerformanceAsSurveillanceWatchingasubject’sbrainwaveslivetimecanmimictheperformancetheaterofasurveillancestate,whetheritissimulatedintheprosceniumorobservedbyfaceless,anonymousmonitorsduringsurreptitiousinterrogations.Performanceitselfhasalongtraditionofspectatorshipandvoyeurism,andofrevealinghiddenmotivesandintentions.Nowbrainwavereadingsarebeginningtobestoredinprivatedatabanksandscatteredthroughoutthecomputingcloud(Leborgne2015)(Syntrogi/Qusp2016).Smoothingalgorithmsaboutvariousbiometricstatescancurrentlyquantifiablycategorizethatinformation.Whenpersonaldataexpandstoincludebrainstates,theabilitytoclassifyandsortinformationaccordingtodesirableoutcomesimpliesanewtypeofcontrolanddiscrimination.Imprintsofouractionscanwindupinthehandsofthewrongpeople(McGrath2004).Thiscategorizationfacilitatestiersofprivilegeandaccessthatcouldbeselectivelydoledouttodifferentindividualsandgroups.Thisnewlandscapeor‘surveillancespace’also

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mimicsthecontrolatheaterdirectorhasoveraplay,orthecontrolauthoritieshaveoverdesigningandimplementingsurveillancescenarios.

AsBCIsbecomeaffordableandhackable,theinvestigationofthatinternalcognitivespacealsobecomesaccessibletoartists.Artistshavecreatedworksusingsurveillance-relatedtechnologytodisruptnormalaudienceresponsesallowingeveryone,includingsubjectsandaudience,toviewnormallyhiddenprocesses.Thisprovokesthe‘possibilityofagency’oftheperson,artistoraudiencememberusedasatestsubject.AnewlyadaptivetheaterofsurveillancedrivenbyBCIdevicesisarrivingallowingthissametypeofenvironmenttomakebrainprocessesvisiblefortheaudiencemembers,eitherthroughmonitoringperformers,orbyaccessingthebrainsofwillingaudiencevolunteers.Throughanagencyofexcess,suchastheintimacyoflookingatpeople’slivetimebrainfeedswhiletheyaresittingrightinfrontofyou,theemotionalimpactofwhatoneislookingatsubvertstheplaneofsymbolicrepresentationbeingplayedoutonthestage.Whentheperformativesurveillantspaceincorporatesbrainsensors,thedisruptionandreversaloftraditionalaudiencescenarioschanges.Theaudienceimpactsthelivedspacebetweenthemselvesandtheperformersinunavoidable,butauthenticways.

Theresearchfromusingmedicalbraindevicestoaidpeoplewithdisabilitiesisalsoopeningupnewvistasintothecapacitytousethebraininwaysthatechoesadvancesinstrategicmilitarycombat.ResearchersattheUniversityofWashington(Rao,Stocca,Bryanetal.2014)producedthefirstnon-invasivehuman-to-braininterfacebyasking,‘Caninformationthatisavailableinthebrainbetransferreddirectlyintheformoftheneuralcode,bypassinglanguagealtogether?’EEGscannowdecodemotorintentionsfroma‘sender’brain,andTranscranialMagneticStimulation(TMS)candeliveranequivalentmotorcommandtothemotorcortexofa‘receiver’brain.Thisisextremelyimportantaseventuallyremote,magneticorothertypesofstimuluscouldbeusedtoconveyinformationbraintobrain,orsurveildifferentbrainstatesincaptivepopulationslikeprisonsormentalhospitals.NowdronesandplanescanberemotelyactivatedthroughthoughtspickedupbyEEGbraincaps(Brainflight,EuropeanUnion2012–2014),(Woollaston2015)(Tekever2015).ThesedevicesarealsobeingdeployedforaerialsurveillanceandATLASsecuritytestdrills.Thus,anew‘theatreofwar’anda‘theatreofsurveillance’drivenbythemedicalBCIsaredevelopingalmostintandem.Formerlyinaccessiblestatesofsubjectivitylikecognition,analysisanddecisionswithoutneuromuscularfollow-thoughcanbeencodedtospecificallylaunchweaponsofdestruction.Itcanbearguedthatintentionality,andthereforeactionshavealwayscreatedthissituation.Thedifference,however,isthiscanbenowbeaccomplishedpurelythroughtheuseofacognitiveinterface.

TheEmotivheadset,aportableconsumerandprofessionalgradeEEGdevicereadschangesinelectricalactivityinthebrain(Emotiv.com2014).Thosechangesaremappedtovariousemotions,facialmovements,eye,eyelidandeyebrowpositions,smiles,laughter,clenchedteeth,smirks,andevenvirtualavatars.Thedevicetrackssixspecificdirectionsinascreendisplay;left,right,up,down,forwardand‘zoom’ordepth,aswellassixrotations;counterclockwise,leftandright,backwardandforwardandoneinterestingonereferredtoas‘disappear’.Billionsofneuronsareconstantlyinteractingwithoneanother,emittingtinyelectricalimpulses.IttakesonlyeightsecondsusingEmotiv’ssoftwaretocalibratethespecificcontoursandfoldpatternsofanyoneindividual’sbrain,aprocesssouniqueitisakintoahumanfingerprint.Bothconsciousandnon-consciouscontenthasbeenmappedforaccuracyintothesoftware’salgorithmtoaccountforvariationsinthebrain’smultiplefoldingpatterns.WhatscientistsatEmotivdidwasremapthosesignalsbacktotheirsourceinaspecificareaofthebrain.TheEmotivreadsandtranslatestheseelectricalimpulseswithalatencyofabout150milliseconds,thoughdependingonwhatinterfacesoftwareartistsuse,thattimeframecanvary.

Itisbecomingimportantforartistswhoaretechnologicallysavvyandastutetoaddresswhatcanonlybecalled‘thedecadeofthebrain’,andtoexploretheimplicationsoftheseissuesthroughtheirvariousartpractices.Mycurrentpracticefocusesondevelopingacreative“brainopera”performanceusinganEmotivEEGbrainsensortoindirectlyaddresstheseissues.Theopera,called“Noor”whichtranslatesinArabicas‘light’,asksoneverysimplequestion–“Isthereaplaceinhumanconsciousnesswheresurveillancecannotgo?Myreasonforcreatingthisoperaisthatwhatyoucansayinanacademicpaper,andwhatyoucandiscussinanartisticperformancearetwodifferentthings.Withintheconfinesofthisnascenttechnologicallandscape,asenseofself,orprivateself,isgoingtobeexposedandpotentiallyviolatedinasurfeitofovertandcovertwaysmostofushaveneverimaginedorexperienced.Withintheconfinesofashortperformance,metaphorandallegory,soundandwords,andinteractivitysuggests,butdoesnotnametheseconcerns.

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Noor–ABrainOpera“Noor-ABrainOpera”islooselybasedonthetruestoryofNoorInayatKhan,aRussianborn,EuropeanraisedSufiMuslimPrincesswhosefatherHazaratInayatKhanbroughtSufismtotheWest.DuringWWIINoorvolunteeredasacovertwirelessoperatorforBritishIntelligencebyparachutingdeepinsideoccupiedVichyruledFrance.ForaperiodofthreemonthsNoor(codenamed“Nora”)wastheonlycommunicationslinktransmittingcriticalinformationbacktotheAllies.CaughtbytheGestapo,whowereunabletobreakhertofindoutanyinformationconcerninghertransmissioncell,NoorwasshotinsidetheinfamousDachauprisonshortlybeforetheendofthewar.Noorisusedasmetaphortoworkwithissuesofsurveillance,privacy,andfaith.

Databanksofvideo,audioandaspokenwordlibrettocorrelatingtofourbasicmentalstatesmostaccessibletotheEmotivheadsetareused:interest,excitement,meditation,andfrustration.Thealgorithmsandmachinelearningcapabilitiesoftheheadsetpre-determinetherangeofemotionsreflectedbythebrainwavestates.Thesedatabanks,whichlooselycontaininformationrelatingbothtothethemeofthestoryandtodifferentemotionalstatesarelaunchedintandemwhentheperformerattainsaspecifiedthresholdofabrainwave.Thebrainwavethresholdisdeterminedbycarefulmeasurementoftheindividualperformer’sresponseovertime,andinavarietyofsituations,aseachperson’sreadingsareunique.Thedatarangeisbetween0and1.Forexample,themeditationthresholdissettolaunchwhenitisgreaterthan.450,andtheexcitementthresholdlauncheswhenitisgreaterthan.650.Thereisanapproximatelytensecondlagbetweentheimplementationofthebrainwavestateoftheperformer,andthelauncheddatabanksofsound,imageandthelibretto.Iwasunsuccessfulinchangingthislagsinceitisinherenttothecombinationofsoftware,hardwareandmiddlewaredeployed.

Thetriggeredvideos,withtheiraccompanyingsoundsandlibrettoareprojectedthroughaseriesofMAX/MspcommandsandportedovertoIsadora,wheretheyareprojectedontoacircularfifteen-foothigh360-degreeimmersivetheatrescreen.SoundandaspokenlibrettoareaddedthroughAbletonLive.Fortheactualperformance,the‘actor’wearingtheheadsetinteractsdirectlywiththeaudiencemembers.Thereisnoseatinginsidethetheatre,justtheabilitytostandorsitonthecarpetedfloor.Theactor’sbrainwaveswillalsobeprojectedlive-timeononeofthefivescreensforalltosee.

Figure1.Testingveryfirstiterationof“Noor–ABrainOpera”withMoonRebasoftheCyborgFoundationonAugust27,2015atHarvestworks,NY.PhotobyEllenPearlman

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Figure2.Testingfivescreenstriggeredbyperformer(offcamera).Therearefouremotions:interest,excitement,meditationandfrustration.Thefifthscreeninthelowerrightisshowingcolouredbubblesoflivetimebrainwaves.PhotobyEllenPearlman

Figure3.PerformerSabaAratandchoreographerDavidLeungtrainingSaba,whoiswearingtheEmotivheadsetunderherhair,tointeractwithpotentialaudiencemembers.Phototakenat360Theatre,SchoolofCreativeMedia,HongKongCityUniversity,January

6,2016.PhotobyEllenPearlman

Figure4.Workingonfixingresolutionof360screenusingIsadora

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Figure5–Initialtestimageoffourbrainwavestates:white,red,green,bluecorrespondingtofouremotionalstates

ConclusionGovernment,coupledwithprivatefundinghasincreasedresearchaboutthehumanbrain.Banksofbigdataandtheabilitytominethatdataforavarietyofpurposeshaveincreasedaswell.Someofthetechnologiesusedtomonitorthebraincouldconceivablyleadtoatypeof‘brainfingerprinting’,andintroducenewwaystosurveilandviolateanindividual’sprivacy.Aneweraofartistsisexploringhumancomputerinteraction.“Noor–ABrainOpera”isasmallcontributiontowardsaddressingtheloomingthreataboutbrainsurveillance,andcontributingtothegrowingbodyofworkonbraincomputerinteractionintheperformativesphere.

ReferencesAbramovic,Marina.2011.NeuroscienceExperiment1:MeasuringtheMagicoftheMutualGaze.GarageCentreForContemporaryArt,Moscow.http://abramovic.garageccc.com/en/works/10.

Duenyas,Yehuda.2012.TheAscent.http://theascent.co/.

Emotiv.2011.http://emotiv.com/.

EuropeanUnion.2015.BRAINFLIGHT–“Braincontrolledaircraftfightusingmultiplefeedbackmechanisms”,TransportResearch&InnovationPortal.http://www.transport-research.info/web/projects/project_details.cfm?id=4479.

Leborgne,Marion.2015.Cloudbrain.https://github.com/marionleborgne/cloudbrain.

Lucier,Alvin.1965.MusicForSoloPerformer.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIPU2ynqy2Y.

McGrath,John.2004.LovingBigBrother,Performance,PrivacyandSurveillanceSpace.Routledge,LondonandNewYork.

Paik,NamJune.1973.HomageToJohnCage.ElectronicArtsIntermix.http://eai.org/title.htm?id=2865.

Park,Lisa.2012.Euonia.http://thelisapark.com/#/eunoia.

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Rao,Rajesh,P.N.,Stocca,Andrea,Bryan,Matthew,et.al.2014.“ADirectBraintoBrainInterfaceInHumans,”PLoSONE,Vol.9,Issue11.http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0111332.

SocietyForNeuroscience.2015.WorldwideNeuroscienceInitiatives.https://www.sfn.org/advocacy/neuroscience-funding/worldwide-neuroscience-initiatives.

Sobell, Nina. “1974 Brainwave Drawing LA.” www.cat.nyu.edu 1974.

Syntrogi.2016.Qusp.http://qusp.io/#s-home.

TekeverNews.2015.“Using(just)yourbraintocontroladrone”.http://tekevernews.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/using-just-your-brain-to-control-drone.html.

Withers,Maida.2015.MindFluctuations.https://vimeo.com/121074310.

Wollaston,Victoria.2015.“Scientistpilotsadroneusingjusthisthoughts”.DailyMailOnline.http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2970073/Would-fly-mind-controlled-plane-Scientist-pilots-.


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