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Call for Papers "Asia-Pacific Computing and Philosophy" 5th Asia-Pacific Conference International Association for Computing and Philosophy (IACAP) University of Tokyo Tokyo (Japan) 1-2 October 2009 __________________________________________________ PRELIMINARY CALL FOR PAPERS Asia-Pacific Computing and Philosophy 2009 will be held on October 1st-2nd, 2009 in Tokyo, Japan. The conference will be hosted at the University of Tokyo's Sanjo Conference Hall. This year, it will be held in conjunction with the Devices that Alter Perception workshop, which will form a special track. The conference invites papers from philosophy, computer science, robotics, and media arts. Practitioners of these and related fields like artificial intelligence, ethics, human-computer interaction, and society-technology studies will debate and demonstrate new research. The conference will foster a scholarly dialogue between designers and critics of computing systems. TIMELINE July 1st, 2009: Deadline for abstract submission August 15th, 2009: Abstract acceptance notification September 1st, 2009: Early registration open September 15th, 2009: Camera-ready papers due September 21st, Papers available online October 1st-2nd, 2009: AP-CAP 2009 Conference CONFERENCE FORMAT The conference will consist of parallel tracks spanning a number of topics of relevance to both computing and philosophy. Abstracts should be written specifically with one of the conferences eight tracks in mind. Abstract reviews will be double-blind (both for authors and reviewers). ONLINE MATERIALS The call for papers, information for attendees, Word and LaTeX templates, online paper submission form and accepted papers are all hosted at: http://ia-cap.org/ap-cap09/ Following acceptance, papers will be made available online for commentary and also public voting in order to award the AP-CAP 2009 best paper prize. SUBMISSIONS Authors are invited to submit an extended abstract limited to 1,000 words. The deadline for abstract submission will be July 1st, 2009 at 23:59 GMT. At submission time, authors should indicate a track for abstract consideration. Camera-ready papers are due on September 15th and should be A4 paper size and less than 10 pages. TRACKS A total of eight tracks covering diverse topics will form the program of AP-CAP 2009. The track topics and organizing chairs are listed below. Devices that Alter Perception Track Chairs: Jonathan BIRD & Yvonne ROGERS Devices such as implants, wearable computers, sensory substitution systems and neural interfaces change the way that a user perceives the world. This interdisciplinary track focuses on systems whose purpose is to alter a user's perception by extending their senses or body. The goals are to: (1) better understand the role played by sensory and bodily extension devices in the process of perception; (2) facilitate the development of extension devices by sharing designs; and (3) consider how empirical experiments with sensory and bodily extension devices can further philosophical and psychological enquiry into perception and cognition. Participants can submit papers and/or demonstrate devices and we welcome submissions from a broad range of disciplines: philosophy; psychology; HCI; engineering; and the arts. Intercultural Information Ethics Track Chair: Soraj HONGLADAROM As the information and communication technologies are spreading all over the globe, there is a concern over how the technologies have created ethical problems that are related to cultures. The track will continue what has been done in previous CAP conferences in searching for the multifaceted ramifications resulting from the interaction between the technologies and cultures, especially, but not limited to ethical ones. For example, papers might seek to investigate how ethical problems arising from the technologies could be justified through various strands of Asian philosophies, whether there are any problems unique to Asia, or they might examine the problem of universality of logic across cultures. Papers dealing with other topics but falling within the broad theme of the track will be considered too. Cognitive Philosophy Track Chair: Kayoko ISHII Human beings are highly social animals. Faculties to evaluate social phenomena should have largely influenced the evolution of their cognitive systems and vice versa. In actual societies, however, there are so many and diverse factors and interactions of factors to be taken into account. Moreover, the strength and significance of interactions may occasionally change according to time and contexts. Social members have to cope with these dynamics. It seems impossible to consider every possibility. Indeed human beings do not. What makes human heuristics possible? It is expected in this track that participants from different disciplines tackle this question together. Now we know that there is cognitive diversity among social members. Some may feel comfortable at rationalizing the world. Others may be rather astute in emotional maneuver. The future of facilitating methods would be also discussed so that different members of a society can be entrained in the symbiosis at any rate and keep the society going on. Privacy and Technology Track Chair: Shin'Ichi KONOMI Computing technologies are increasingly used in our everyday life, making it possible to unobtrusively capture, store, integrate, copy, and use detailed personal information. In the past several years, the online world has changed with the rise of blogs, social networking sites, and other Web 2.0 services, the physical world has also changed with the increased uses of surveillance cameras, GPS receivers, RFID tags/readers, and networked wireless sensors. Moreover, cars and pedestrians can now use in-vehicle devices or mobile phones to capture data that can cause real privacy concerns (cf. Google Street View). Technology and Privacy Track provides a forum for sharing ideas to better understand today's privacy problems in relation to new and traditional information technologies and practices, to critique existing privacy-enhancing technologies, and to propose design guidelines and solutions for a sociotechnical infrastructure of the future. Social Construction of the Self Track Chair: Ken MOGI The self is a phenomenologically salient and functionally important aspect of human cognition. The discovery of the mirror neurons (i.e., cells in the prefrontal cortex representing actions of the self and others) has added a new and important dimension to the empirical investigation into this fundamental aspect of existence. Findings in cognitive neuroscience have revealed how the self is constructed through the interaction with others. The self is a socially constructed, embodied phenomenon. Various aspects of cognition, e.g., active vision, sensorimotor coordination, perception of time, body image, emotion, and memory, make sense only in reference to the self. Here experts from neuroscience, philosophy, artificial life, physics and other fields discuss the newly emerging science of the self. The session will be empirically based while trying to be theoretically enterprising at the same time. Hybrid Culture Track Chair: Tomoe MORIYAMA Hybrid culture track will specially focus on a kind of creative chaos, as a new approach to our perception, for realizing the externalization of structural knowledge. We expect your unique paradigm shift of art and technologies, science and media. Roboethics Track Chair: Jorge SOLIS Nowadays with recent technological breakdowns in developing human-like robots, medical robots, etc.; it is possible to conceive intelligent machines which can autonomously perform specific tasks. More recently, the introduction of personal robots designed to coexist with humans is becoming closer to the reality. Therefore, new challenges are seen in introducing robots to other applications fields out of the industry. The goals of the track are to: (1) understand the ethical, social and legal aspects of the design, development and employment of robots (2) engaging in a critical analysis of the social implications of robots (3) increase the convergence of roboticists, computer scientists, philosophers, etc. Transhumanism Track Chair: Ryo UEHARA This track aims to clarify and examine the radical idea of "Transhumanism" from technological, social, historical, cultural, ethical and philosophical aspects. Transhumanism is an emerging claim like the following. Many kinds of science and technology will develop quickly in the near future, including neuroscience, biotechnology, nanotechnology, information technology, or the convergent technology of these disciplines. These technological developments will enable us to enhance or extend our human traits and capabilities, for example, perceptions, emotions, intelligence, and longevity. Then, through technological enhancement, we could and ought to transcend our current human conditions to beings that are "more than human." It does not seem, however, so clear exactly what Transhumanism claims in theoretical senses. So, this track will deal with the topics like: prediction on the development of technologies relevant to Transhumanism; ethical impacts of technological enhancement in general; philosophical foundations of Transhumanism, such as the theory of value, or philosophy of mind. ORGANIZERS AP-CAP 2009 is sponsored by the International Association for Computing and Philosophy. The conference is organized by the University of Tokyo Meta-Perception Research Group, Oxford University Information Ethics Research Group, and University of Hertfordshire Group in Philosophy of Information. Conference Chair: Masatoshi Ishikawa Program Chairs: Alvaro Cassinelli & Carson Reynolds Program Committee: Jonathan Bird, Charles Ess, Soraj Hongladarom, Kayoko Ishii, Shin'Ichi Konomi, Ken Mogi, Tomoe Moriyama, Jorge Solis, Sundar Sarukkai and Ryo Uehara. IA-CAP MEMBERS Attendees who are members of IA-CAP will enjoy a discounted conference fee. We encourage interested parties to join IA-CAP prior to the September 1st early registration deadline. You can find more information about membership at the IA-CAP website: http://ia-cap.org/membership.php Conference Website: http://ia-cap.org/ap-cap09/ __________________________________________________ InterPhil List Administration: http://interphil.polylog.org Intercultural Philosophy Calendar: http://cal.polylog.org
