Converging Technologies: body, brain, and being

2 mars 2010

Converging Technologies: body, brain, and being

“Converging Technologies: body, brain, and being”

An international Working Conference

Maribor, Slovenia. Monday and Tuesday May 17^th and 18th, 2010.

Call for Contributions

Futurists see a distinct trend in science and technology: convergence. Several important technologies are merging. The Working Group on Computers and Social Accountability is especially interested in information and communication technologies (ICT). ICT are now converging with others such as bio-technologies; cognitive sciences; and nano-technologies. Different media are also coming together: the creative media; cloud computing; the Internet; mobile telephony; and social networking. The group therefore sees that it is of considerable importance to look into the social aspects of all those technologies that are converging with ICT.

Trends and developments often take longer to occur than are first perceived. Disruptive technologies may emerge with little foresight. Some developments drop out of sight. Our communities and societies also seem to be moving closer together. The planet’s globalisation moves inexorably towards actuality. However, some elements of fragmentation and conflict can be difficult to surmount.

The twentieth century saw great social and technological changes. These changes have speeded up within the first decade of the twenty-first century. The year 2010 provides an opportune moment to investigate, assess, and determine our position on convergence. From a socially-aware and ethically-aware standpoint, it is crucial to do several things: to assess where the joining-up of society and technology is bringing humankind; to emphasise where we would like the future to head, what we will prioritise, and how we will take responsibility for these priorities and futures.

The aim of this conference is to ask:

· What are the main trends and developments that highlight the convergence of ICT with other fields, socially, technologically, economically, and politically?

· What are the principal social and ethical threats and challenges of other technologies that are converging with ICT?

· What do different communities and societies have to offer in terms of insights into this convergence?

· How can human beings achieve a level of social accountability in terms of convergence trends in ICT?

· How can we reflect and theorise together?

· How can we act together in ways that are likely to benefit human societies rather than threaten or challenge them when technologies converge with ICT?

We welcome contributions with different perspectives on the ICT-related foundations of this conference: ethical, ethnographic, legal and regulatory, philosophical, psychological, social, and socio-economic.

Themes include (but are not limited to):

1. Social, ethical and philosophical reflections on ICT, converging technologies and their societal implications (in a wide array of domains such as health, education, mobility, the greying population, energy, security, and globalization).

2. Case studies on social and ethical issues concerning ICT and converging technologies in areas such as health, education, and mobility.

3. Experiences in design, development and use of ICT-related products and services.

4. The role of citizens, clients and customers in defining and adopting new services, treatments and products based on ICT and converging technologies.

Submission information and dates

Extended abstracts (2-4 pages in length) by February 26, 2010

Notification of acceptance: March 8, 2010

Draft full papers (up to 8 pages) for the Pre-Proceedings: April 1, 2010.

Initial abstracts to be submitted to: p.duquenoy[at]mdx.ac.uk

Student papers

We would especially like to attract students to this conference, and would hope to organise a poster session dedicated to student presentations. Please request your masters or PhD students to submit their extended abstracts for posters by the above date.

Paper selection

Contributions will be selected by the conference Programme Committee, based on an extended abstract review. Accepted draft full papers will be made available to all participants in the conference as Pre-Proceedings. Following the conference, authors will have the opportunity to submit their final full papers for publication in the Conference Proceedings (which it is anticipated will be published by the official IFIP publisher). As far as possible, all papers should have a relationship with ICT.

Conference organisers and programme committee

The conference is being organised by the International Federation for Information Processing’s (IFIP) working group 9.2 on computers and social accountability. The programme and organising committees are in the main composed of the working group’s members. Expansion of the programme committee is ongoing.

Chair:

Penny Duquenoy (Middlesex University, United Kingdom, IFIP WG 9.2 chair)

Co-Chairs:

Kai Kimppa (Turku University, Finland)

Marc van Lieshout (TNO, Netherlands)

Diane Whitehouse (The Castlegate Consultancy, United Kingdom)

Programme Committee:

Gunilla Bradley, KISTA, Sweden (former IFIP WG9.2 Namur Award winner)

Geoff Busby, Independent consultant, United Kingdom

Philippe Goujon, FUNDP, Belgium

Vasileios Laopodis, Greek Computer Society, Greece

Véronique Laurent, FTU, Belgium