Call for Abstracts: "The Road to Domination? Open Society and New Technologies"
The OSUN Open Society Research Platform is planning a hybrid workshop on April 29 with in-person panels and online presentations. The Platform seeks proposals for 12-15-minute-long panel discussions by OSUN faculty and scholars–graduate and undergraduate students–from multidisciplinary backgrounds that critically reflect on the complex relationship between open society and new technologies.The rapid development of Artificial Intelligence, advances in biotechnology, deployment of (semi-)autonomous weapons, and the predictive power of algorithms – all these technologies shape and alter our moral, social, and political relations in profound ways. And while few doubt the potential of new technologies in areas such as medicine, communication, or transportation, philosophers and social scientists raise serious doubts about the neutrality of technology, the prospects for human agency in a world governed by machines and the liberating effects of technology.
The development of new technologies also challenges central concepts of the idea of "open society." In The Open Society and its Enemies, Karl Popper famously asserts that an open society "sets free the critical powers of man," whereas a closed society submits to "magical forces." In an open society, therefore, individuals are confronted with personal decisions and the prospect of a radically open future.
But new forms of global domination by Big Tech and the growing tendency to outsource fundamental decisions to algorithms fundamentally challenge the idea of open society. Current practices of technological solutionism might well stifle free expression and democratic self-government.
Abstracts for "Open Society and New Technologies" should be 250-300 words long and a bio should be included. Organizers will select papers for publication in a forthcoming edited volume or a special issue in an academic journal.
Send submissions to Christof Royer
Deadline to submit abstracts is March 10
Cross Reference: Call for Proposals, Workshop,Opportunities,Open Society Research Platform
Deadline Expired on March 10, 2022