Build the context for a better question

Learn the essentials in the BCI app

The public Explore experience includes learning material that you can consult before or during an exploration. These links open the current Compass app

• BCI primer

  Understand what a brain–computer interface measures, what it produces, and how the person interacts with it

• Neurodata primer

  Distinguish a recording, a processed signal and an inference. Use those distinctions when asking what information is collected and how it is used

• Pathways primer

  Consider how purpose and setting change the questions around a technology. This learning material is separate from project-specific assessment pathways

• Glossary

  Find definitions, examples, selected perspectives and source links for technical, governance and Compass terms

• Responsibilities

  Explore questions about people, organizations and decisions, with independently selected published examples

Selected primary references

These are source destinations already referenced in Compass. They serve different purposes: a definition, an ethical recommendation and a technical guidance document should be read in their own context. Inclusion here does not imply endorsement of Compass by the publisher

• BCI Society: working definition of a brain–computer interface

  Scope: terminology and classification. Useful when deciding whether a described system is a BCI and when distinguishing neural signals from other inputs

• OECD: Recommendation on Responsible Innovation in Neurotechnology

  Scope: responsible innovation and governance. Use as background for questions about purpose, participation and public value; follow the official record for the instrument and its history

• UNESCO: Recommendation on the Ethics of Neurotechnology (2025)

  Scope: ethical principles, rights, dignity and agency. The Compass glossary draws on this reference while distinguishing definitions from claims about a particular system

• FDA: Implanted Brain–Computer Interface Devices for Patients with Paralysis or Amputation

  Scope: guidance about a specific class of implanted devices. Consult the issuing authority’s document for its exact scope and status; it is not a general approval of BCIs or of a listed project

For an actual project, identify the relevant jurisdiction, activity and system before deciding which references apply. This collection is an introduction, not a complete regulatory checklist

Read with a task in mind

• Interpret evidence and uncertainty

  Separate a documented observation, a claim, an assumption and an unanswered question

• Read the published BCI landscape

  Understand what the catalogue includes and what a date, readiness label or count can support

• The Compass method

  See how context, evidence, alternatives and review conditions connect

• In Practice

  Read worked examples and essays with their content type and publication context visible

Guides and editions

The guide library brings together tasks, experiences and stakeholder perspectives. Shared task pages hold the procedures so that an audience guide can concentrate on the questions and interpretation relevant to its readers

Published essays retain their existing dates and editions. A guide revision, a software change and an addition to the public catalogue are different kinds of update; one date should not stand in for all three