[e-privacy] [CFP] Call for papers: Ethical Challenges of Ubiquitous Computing

[Andrea Glorioso]

Cari tutti,

giro - con preghiera di diffusione ove riteniate opportuno - una "call
for papers" (scadenza "extendend abstract": 15 giugno) che penso possa
essere potenzialmente interessante per chi legge.

Per ulteriori informazioni non rivolgetevi a me, ma a David Phillips
<davidj.phillips at utoronto.ca>  e/o Klaus Wiegerling
<wiegerlingklaus at aol.com>.

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Call for Papers 
Ethical Challenges of Ubiquitous Computing 
Call for Papers for Vol. 8 (12/2007) 
- Deadline for abstracts: June 15, 2007 
- Notification of acceptance to authors: August 15, 2007 
- Deadline for full articles: November 15, 2007 
- Publication: December, 2007 
 
Introduction 

With the idea of Ubiquitous Computing introduced by Mark Weiser (often
bracketed  with slight modifications  under  the concepts of Pervasive
Computing or  Ambient Intelligence), the idea of  an ICT saturation of
the entire  mesosphere Ð  i.e. those old  cyberspace  fantasies of  an
angel-like existence, as they were still termed in the 1980s Ð appears
to be on the point of becoming an earthly reality. In a certain sense,
our everyday world should be made intelligent, and all our actions, at
all  times    and everywhere,   should   undergo  some   kind  of  ICT
support. Thus, the idea of  ubiquitous Computing means an  omnipresent
ICT accompaniment  of our daily  life, either as an  active user, as a
passive  beneficiary, as  a monitored  and  possibly even as a  system
guided being. These systems could be available via memory (storage and
accessing  capacity),  they   usually    have a   perception   (sensor
technology)   and   a certain   capacity  for  interpreting situations
(context awareness). A whole   host of technical research   fields are
working toward the goal  of Ubiquitous Computing, from mechatronics to
materials science, from telecommunication engineering to computing and
AI research. The  idea though of the omnipresence  of these systems is
necessarily misleading,  because there will  of course only be pockets
where they come  into effect,  and  we may  generally doubt the  total
pervasiveness of our  world on account of  both technical and economic
reasons.   The maintenance alone  of the  infrastructure, particularly
sensor technology, will doubtlessly entail such enormous costs that it
will not  be a  case  of an area-wide  saturation.  In any event,  the
present scenarios involve  fields of  application  which will more  or
less  have an impact on  every domain of life,  from areas of personal
interest   such as  leisure  activities or  health  care, to  possible
sources of  income in  the economy,  and even  to questions of  public
interest, such as domestic and foreign security.

Any ethical     discussion  of Ubiquitous  Computing    is  inherently
problematic because we are  dealing with emergent technology. We  have
to  take  into account its   potential, irrespective of   how far this
potential can be realised in detail, and irrespective of the fields in
which     all-pervasive       ICT     accompaniment      will     find
acceptance. Nevertheless,  there  is no question  that  any technology
that is going to so radically encroach on our daily life is in need of
some kind  of  ethical framework,  not least  to provide  direction to
frequently financially   motivated research, with  respect to existing
traditional values and sought after option values.

The case of  Ubiquitous Computing  brings into  sharper focus two  key
problems  in theoretical ethics  that  have already attained a special
position in applied  media ethics: On the  one hand, the determination
of reality which we should influence with our acting, and on the other
hand,  the determination of the  subject to which these actions should
be attributed and should intervene in reality. In certain sense we may
say that  reality  diminishes  with  respect  to its   confrontational
character, and hence  becomes virtual, and  there comes into focus the
subject that  is perceived by  intelligent systems,  always as  a user
stereotype, i.e. as a buying, sickly and  travelling subject etc. To a
certain extent   the   subject becomes  weakened,   and, moreover, the
formation of its identity is impaired. This is because it has to above
all   manufacture  its   personality   without   the  recognition  and
non-recognition  of a  present    Other,  and possibly without     the
development of those specific skills dependent on this confrontational
experience with the world.  For our everyday  organisational abilities
end  up  becoming  reduced  by intelligent  systems.  And they perhaps
direct our behaviour, without  it coming to explicit  social processes
characterised by negotiating and recognitional procedures.

The experience  of the  world and  the self  will therefore  undergo a
transformation  in   intelligent environments.    This gives   rise to
countless ethical issues whose analysis must  go hand in hand with the
development of such systems. Thus, the  above key questions have to be
supplemented   by   additional specific   problems,   concerning,  for
instance, the  anonymous generation of  cognition, possible changes in
the   ethos of cognition,    privacy and the   formation  of  trust in
intelligent worlds, and finally, the context sensitivity of the system
and the related intrusion in our sphere of understanding.

The 8th issue of IRIE will  tackle the ethical challenge of ubiquitous
systems and  therefore furnish a contribution  to the establishment of
an ethics of  Ubiquitous Computing.  This ethics  is anchored  in  the
field  of media  ethics,  yet it radicalises  to  a certain degree the
fundamental issues  in this field,  insofar  as the entire  mesosphere
appears as a sphere disposed to  such media. And hence, the boundaries
then disappear between electronic technology and what underpins it.
 
Possible Topics and Questions 

The production of reality (as concrete contents) and the production of
Wirklichkeit   (as opposed to  the   individual  and an embedding   of
reality)

?  Medialization of the physical world 
?  Interpretation of reality and environments using context sensitive and adaptive systems 
?  Modelling of acting and behaviour through context sensitive and adaptive systems 
 
Privacy, Surveillance, Trust  

?  Privacy in intelligent interactive environments  
?  Surveillance, data protection and personal freedom 
?  Ubiquitous systems and trust  
 
Manufacturing of the Acting Subject 

?  Identity formation in intelligent environments 
?  The Other in intelligent environments 
?  Self-perception in intelligent environments  
 
Cognition in intelligent environments 

?  Generating cognition in intelligent environments  
?  Anonymous generation of cognition and cognitive acquisition  
?  Transformation of the cognitive ethos 
 
Problems of Ubiquitous Computing in special fields of application 

?  Health Care 
?  Economy and work 
?  Living in a smart home (and other fields ...)  

The Rules of the Game 

Potential authors must provide an  extended abstract (max. 1500 words)
by 15/06/2007. The abstract can be written in the mother tongue of the
author though an English translation of this abstract must be included
if the chosen  language is not English. IRIE  will publish articles in
English, French,  German,  Portuguese  or Spanish.  The   author(s) of
contributions in French, Portuguese, or Spanish must nominate at least
two potential peer reviewers.
 
The abstracts will be selected by the  guest editors. The authors will
be informed of acceptance or rejection by 15/08/2007. Deadline for the
final article (3.000 words  or 20.000 characters including blanks)  is
15/11/2007.  All     submissions   will   be subject    of    a   peer
review. Therefore the   acceptance  of an extended  abstract  does not
imply  the publication of the  final text (12/2007) unless the article
passed the peer review.
 
For more information about the journal see: http://www.i-r-i-e.net
 
Contact 

PD  Dr. habil. Klaus Wiegerling   (UniversitŠt Stuttgart, Germany) and
Prof. Ph.  D. David Phillips  (Univer- sity of Toronto, Canada) manage
the special  issue as   guest  editors. Please  send the  extended ab-
stracts  by   e-mail  to both  of   them:  

Prof. Dr.   David Phillips, davidj.phillips at utoronto.ca   
PD.  Dr.  habil.  Klaus Wiegerling, wiegerlingklaus at aol.com

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Ciao,

--
      Andrea Glorioso || http://people.digitalpolicy.it/sama/cv/
          M: +39 348 921 4379	     F: +39 051 930 31 133
       "Truth is a relationship between a theory and the world;
       beauty is a relationship between a theory and the mind."
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