R
Resonance Research Institute
Trauma · EEG · Music · AI
Ethics & Data

Doing bleeding-edge work without bleeding people dry.

Trauma, biometrics, and AI are powerful and risky. This page outlines how we think about those risks, what we refuse to do, and how we intend to be accountable to the people our work touches.

Guiding Principles

Four things we won’t compromise.

Dignity over data.

No dataset, model, or paper is worth treating a human being as raw material. Participants, clients, and collaborators retain full personhood in every phase of our work. Opting out is always allowed.

Radical transparency.

We avoid black-box vibes. People have the right to understand what’s being collected, what models are doing, and how those outputs are being used in care or research.

Trauma-informed by design.

We assume nervous systems are already carrying more than they should. Every interface, protocol, and experiment is evaluated for overwhelm, re-triggering, and power dynamics.

Community accountability.

Veterans, trauma survivors, and clinicians are not “end users”—they’re co-authors. We seek feedback from them on what we should build, pause, or never ship.

Data Practices

How we think about data.

Collection

  • • We collect only the minimum data required to answer a specific research question.
  • • Participation in research is always separate from clinical care decisions.
  • • EEG and other biometric data are never captured without explicit, informed consent.
  • • Where possible, we prefer on-device processing and local storage over cloud dependency.

Storage & Use

  • • Identifying information is stored separately from research data whenever feasible.
  • • Access to raw data is restricted to approved team members for defined purposes.
  • • We do not sell data. Full stop.
  • • Any secondary uses (e.g., new research questions) require additional review and, when appropriate, renewed consent.

Retention

  • • Data is retained only as long as needed for analysis, replication, or regulatory requirements.
  • • Participants may request that de-identified data not be used in future analyses where feasible.
Consent

Informed, ongoing, revocable.

Consent isn’t a one-time signature; it’s a continuous conversation. We explain, in plain language:

  • • what we’re doing,
  • • why we’re doing it,
  • • what the risks and benefits are,
  • • and what happens if someone says “no” or changes their mind later.

Saying “no” to research participation never affects access to therapy, services, or support.

Risk & Misuse

Things we are actively guarding against.

  • • Using EEG or AI outputs as gatekeeping tools for benefits, services, or legal decisions.
  • • Overstating what models can “know” about a person’s inner life.
  • • Deploying tools in settings without adequate clinical oversight.
  • • Allowing third parties to repurpose trauma-related data for commercial or surveillance use.

When in doubt, we err on the side of protecting participants—even if that slows down the science.

Governance

Who holds us accountable.

As our work scales, formal structures will accompany the informal ones already in place: clinical ethics consultation, IRB review for research, and ongoing feedback loops with veterans and clinicians.

Clinical ethics consultation IRB-reviewed research protocols Veteran advisory input Clinician working groups

If you have concerns, suggestions, or want to participate in shaping our ethical framework, you’re invited into the conversation.