Conference on Experimenting with New Technologies in Society

Conference on Experimenting with New Technologies in Society Conference Themes

This conference is part of a research effort [1] in which new technology is conceptualized as a form of social experimentation. In this perspective, the introduction of a technology into society is not seen as a one-off decision but rather as an ongoing social experiment, and one of the main aims of our project is to investigate the conditions under which such social experiments are morally acceptable. However, we are also more than eager to explore additional aspects and implications of this social experimentation paradigm. As such, we would like to invite you to contribute to our upcoming conference on August 20-22 2015 in at Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands. The themes we are interested in include:

·           The notion of (social) experiment

·           The governance of experiments

·           Historical and current cases of experimentation with new technologies

·           Ethical aspects of experimenting with new technologies

·           The politics of experimentation/experimental politics

·           Designing for experimentation

·           Future Studies/Foresight studies/Technology Assessment and experimentation

Highlights

The following keynote speakers have confirmed their participation:

·         Prof. Christopher Ansell (UC Berkeley)

·         Prof. Sheila Jasanoff (Harvard Kennedy School)

·         Prof. Alfred Nordmann (Technische Universität Darmstadt)

·         Prof. Ibo van de Poel (Delft University of Technology)

In addition, Prof. Marjolein van Asselt (University of Maastricht) has also expressed her interest in joining as a keynote speaker, but final confirmation is pending.

[1] For more information on the project, please see http://ethicsandtechnology.eu/projects/new_technologies_as_social_experiments_conditions_for_morally_responsible_experimentation/