February 2021 - Air-L - lists.aoir.org

Subject: “AI & the Human” conference and submission deadline postponed due the ongoing pandemic: New submission deadline 20 September 2021 – New conference date Thursday 12 and Friday 13 May 2022.
by Steven Mark Champion 01 Feb '21

01 Feb '21

We are sorry to inform you that due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic the conference “Artificial Intelligence and the Human – Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Science and Fiction” will not take place in June 2021 as originally planned. For the organisers it is very important to hold the international conference as an in-person event. The continued uncertainty regarding travel restrictions and vaccinations led us to the decision to push the conference date back to 12 and 13 May 2022. The deadline for submissions of the extended abstracts is postponed to 20 September 2021. C A L L F O R P A P E R S Conference and edited volume Artificial intelligence and the human – Cross-cultural perspectives on science and fiction A Japanese-German conference in Berlin, Germany 12 and 13 May 2022 & Edited volume (2023) Current debates on artificial intelligence often conflate the realities of AI technologies with the fictional renditions of what they might one day become. They are said to be able to learn, make autonomous decisions or process information much faster than humans, which raises hopes and fears alike. What if these useful technologies will one day develop their own intentions that run contrary to those of humans? The line between science and fiction is becoming increasingly blurry: what is already a fact, what is still only imagination; and is it even possible to make this clear-cut distinction? Innovation and development goals in the field of AI are inspired by popular culture, such as its portrayal in literature, comics, film or television. At the same time, images of these technologies drive discussions and set particular priorities in politics, business, journalism, religion, civil society, ethics or research. Fictions, potentials and scenarios inform a society about the hopes, risks, solutions and expectations associated with new technologies. But what is more, the discourses on AI, robots and intelligent, even sentient machines are nothing short of a mirror of the human condition: they renew fundamental questions on concepts such as consciousness, free will and autonomy or the ways we humans think, act and feel. Imaginations about the human and technologies are far from universal, they are culturally specific. This is why a cross-cultural comparison is crucial for better understanding the relationship between AI and the human and how they are mutually constructed by uncovering those aspects that are regarded as natural, normal or given. Focusing on concepts, representations and narratives from different cultures, the conference aims to address two axes of comparison that help us make sense of the diverse realities of artificial intelligence and the ideas of what is human: Science and fiction, East Asia and the West. Papers are invited on the following topics (among others): - Which meanings and functions are ascribed to AI technologies and robots? - How is science informed by popular discursive images of AI? - Which cultural differences are there concerning the relationship between the natural and the artificial? What are the particular traditions of how to represent the human and its technological surrogates? - What can the different cultural and conceptual histories tell us about our present and future with artificial intelligence? Besides papers on these more general topics, we also invite case studies on innovative technologies and their fictional precursors as well as on the social, ethical or political contexts in which they are applied. All contributions are expected to address the comparative perspective on East Asian and Euro-American discourses. Relevant issues and perspectives for these comparisons include but are not limited to cyberpunk and science-fiction in literature and film, public debates and imaginations of AI, the relation between simulation and reality, materiality, historical and legal accounts, sociotechnical imaginaries and politics. We welcome contributions from scholars of diverse disciplines, such as cognitive science, computer science, cultural studies, literature and film studies, media and communication studies, psychology, political science, science and technology studies or sociology. Interdisciplinary approaches (e.g., those combining social, cultural and technical perspectives), as well as perspectives from practitioners and developers, are particularly encouraged. Submission process - Extended abstracts of approximately 4,000 to 6,000 characters in length (excl. references) should be submitted no later than 20 September 2021 to ai21(a)hiig.de - Speakers will be notified by 15 November 2021. Conference and publication of selected papers in an edited volume - The conference will take place on Thursday 12 and Friday 13 May 2022 in Berlin. - Invitations for the submission of selected full manuscripts sent out in June 2022. - Full manuscripts of between 30.000 to 50.000 characters (excluding references) to be submitted by September 2022. - Comprehensive review returned to authors in December 2022; final papers due in February 2023. - The edited volume will be published in mid-2023. If you have any questions, you can contact the conference organisers via ai21(a)hiig.de. For more information, visit our website at hiig.de/events/ai21. Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society, Berlin Thomas Christian Bächle Christian Katzenbach Japanese-German Center Berlin Phoebe Stella Holdgrün Waseda University, Tokyo Katsumi Watanabe -- <http://www.hiig.de/>Alexander von Humboldt Institut für Internet und Gesellschaft gGmbH Französische Straße 9 · 10117 Berlin T +49 30 200 760 82 · F +49 30 206 089 60 · www.hiig.de <http://www.hiig.de/> <http://www.facebook.com/HIIG.Berlin> <https://twitter.com/hiig_berlin> <https://www.instagram.com/hiigberlin/> Gesellschaftssitz Berlin | Amtsgericht Berlin Charlottenburg | HRB 140911B | USt-ID DE 291 151 171 Forschungsdirektorium: Prof. Dr. Jeanette Hofmann (Geschäftsführung) · Prof. Dr. Björn Scheuermann · Prof. Dr. Dr. Thomas Schildhauer · Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Schulz | Geschäftsführung: Dr. Karina Preiß

1 0

New podcast series: Media, Technology & Culture
by Scott Rodgers 01 Feb '21

01 Feb '21

Dear all, I am getting in touch to publicise a new podcast series I am producing, Media, Technology & Culture, hosted at my (new) podcast channel Publicly Sited<https://publiclysited.podbean.com/>. It takes a thematic look at media, understood as technologies, exploring both histories and more recent developments – and not always necessarily in a linear progression. Though it’s aimed principally at students in my second-year undergraduate module of the same name, I’m putting in out publicly as a resource to a broader range of users and audiences. The series is now four episodes in, with topics covered so far including technology and culture, communication and transportation, domestication theory, and liveness. There will be 10 episodes in all, with future instalments on computation, infrastructure, ubiquitous technologies, participatory cultures, algorithmic systems and digital capitalism. In this blog post I offer some reflections<https://www.publiclysited.com/new-podcast-series-media-technology-culture/> on the inception of the series, thoughts on how it’s taking shape so far, and its future evolution. You can subscribe via Podbean, Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, Pandora and elsewhere… Very best, Scott

1 0

[Open Webinar] José van Dijck on platformisation at SMART Data Sprint 2021
by Smart Inovamedialab 01 Feb '21

01 Feb '21

Open Webinar | SMART Data Sprint 2021 A European perspective on platformisation by José van Dijck February, 3rd at 5 PM (GMT) | ONLINE (Zoom) We are pleased to announce that José van Dijck is joining SMART Data Sprint 2021 with a keynote open to the public on the theme of a European perspective on platformization. José van Dijck is a distinguished professor at the University of Utrecht (Netherlands), and a former dean of the University of Amsterdam. From 2015 to 2018, she also served as president-elect of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. Van Dijck's field of research focuses on media studies and digital society. Her work covers a wide range of topics in media theory, technologies and communication, social media, and digital culture. She is the co-author and co-editor of ten books and over one hundred journal articles and book chapters. Van Dijck’s book The Culture of Connectivity. A Critical History of Social Media (Oxford UP, 2013) was distributed worldwide and was translated into Spanish, Chinese, and Farsi. Her latest book, co-authored by Thomas Poell & Martijn de Waal is titled The Platform Society. Public values in a connective world (Oxford University Press, 2018). Van Dijck's lecture will be online (via Zoom) and open to SMART Data Sprint participants and the general public under free registration at < https://bit.ly/SMARTDataSprint_keynoteJvD> About SMART Data Sprint SMART Data Sprint is an international event promoted by the SMART research group (iNOVA Media Lab/NOVA University of Lisbon) that provides an intense hands-on experience, driven by online data and digital methods. More info at <http://smart.inovamedialab.org> -- SMART ˚ ˚ Social Media Research Techniques I #SMARTDataSprint iNOVA Media Lab I NOVA FCSH I Universidade Nova de Lisboa

2 4

VIDEO / TRANSCRIPT ‘Free Speech Project: Section 230’s Fate Under the Biden Administration’
by Joly MacFie 01 Feb '21

01 Feb '21

This was not an ISOC stream, which is why you may have missed it. But it does have an ISOC Trustee, and now, an ISOC Live transcript <https://bit.ly/3j5TTbt>! It's a standout in that the discussants all have thought out concrete proposals. ISOC Live posted: "On January 13 2021 Future Tense, the Duke Center on Science & Technology Policy, the Yale Information Society Project, and the Tech, Law & Society Program at American University Washington College of Law convened a panel 'Free Speech Project: Sect" [image: YouTube] <https://youtu.be/4u6HvnFYMKw>On *January 13 2021 Future Tense <https://slate.com/technology/future-tense>*, the *Duke Center on Science & Technology Policy <https://scienceandsociety.duke.edu/engage/duke-center-for-science-and-techn…>*, the *Yale Information Society Project <https://law.yale.edu/isp>*, and the Tech, Law & Society Program at *American University Washington College of Law <https://www.wcl.american.edu/>* convened a panel '*Free Speech Project: Section 230's Fate Under the Biden Administration* <https://washingtondc.asu.edu/video/free-speech-project-section-230s-fate-un…>'. With the fate of Section 230 hanging in the balance, and numerous proposed reforms swirling about, what will the new year and the new administration mean for this key legal underpinning of the internet and the regulation of our speech on the virtual public square? *SPEAKERS* *Matt Perault*, Director, Center on Science & Technology Policy at Duke University *Mike Godwin*, Visiting Fellow, the Information Society Project at Yale Law School: Member, Internet Society Board of Trustees: Author, *The Splinters of our Discontent: How to Fix Social Media and Democracy Without Breaking Them <https://www.amazon.com/dp/1939888751/>* *Victoria McCullough*, Director, Public Policy and Social Impact, Tumblr at Automattic *MODERATOR* *Jennifer Daskal*, New America ASU Future Security Fellow, 2021; Professor and Faculty Director, Tech, Law, & Security Program at American University Washington College of Law *VIEW ON YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/4u6HvnFYMKw <https://youtu.be/4u6HvnFYMKw>* *TRANSCRIPT: https://bit.ly/3j5TTbt <https://bit.ly/3j5TTbt>* *TWITTER #Section230sFate <http://bit.ly/Section230sFate> @FutureTenseNow @mattperault @DukeSci_Soc @sfmnemonic @jendaskal Victoria McCullough @automattic #Section230* *Permalink* https://isoc.live/13678/ - -- -------------------------------------- Joly MacFie +12185659365 -------------------------------------- -

1 0