The BCSSS Research Group on “Emergent systems, information and society” calls for papers and participation in three sections of the International Society for Information Studies Summit that will take place in Gothenburg from 12 to 16 June 2017. That Summit is the follow-up conference of the one that was held with the support of the Center in Vienna in 2015.

  • One workshop is on the topic: Transhumanism – the proper guide to a posthuman condition or a dangerous idea? 
  • A second workshop will discuss: Digital Netizens at the crossroads of sharing and privatising
  • And a panel is set up to deliberate on: Possibility and Actuality: Towards a Manifesto on Evolutionary Systems

The first workshop will discuss pros and cons of ideas that favour the enhancement of the intellectual and physical capabilities of human beings beyond their current organismic limits. Transhumanism as well as post-humanism form a strong movement, in particular, in the United States. But many assumptions shared by representatives of that movement underlie current technological developments. The workshop is organised by the research group and the Forum Computer Professionals for Peace and Social Responsibility (FIfF), Germany. 

The second workshop asks whether or not the original dreams of a global netizenship have come true. A great variety of aspects is on the agenda, among them the actual question of bubbles and rational vs. irrational discourse on social media. 

Thirdly, the panel deals with foundational stuff. It is devoted to contribute to clarifications of how matter and information can be conceptualised in the perspective of evolutionary systems (going back to Ludwig von Bertalanffy’s General System Theory). Both the workshop on netizens and the panel on evolutionary systems are organised in conjunction with the Institut für Design Science München. 

Please, look at the calls in detail here: Transhumanism call | Netizens call| Evolutionary Systems call 

Abstracts of 1 to 2 pages for the two workshops are due before 1 March 2017. See here. Requests concerning the panel can be addressed directly to Rainer E. Zimmermann or Wolfgang Hofkirchner. All sections are open to any public.