Technology in the Age of Information

The School of Economics and Management (ISEG-UTL) and the SOCIUS research centre at the Technical University of Lisbon and the Institute of Social Sciences of the University of Lisbon (ICS-UL) are organising the 18th Biennial International Conference of the Society for Philosophy and Technology (SPT), which will be held July 4 - 6, 2013, at the ISEG-UTL. On the early evening before, July 3 from 3-7 pm, the conference will also co-host a special corporate workshop. 

The SPT 2013 theme is Technology in the Age of Information. A main aim of the conference is to encourage debate on the cultural, social, economic, political and ethical implications of advances in information and media technology. Digital networks and computerized technological systems have enlarged the domain of human technological action and responsibility, which raises new questions about the impacts of globalization and of the expanding information economy on the public and cultural spheres. A challenge facing the philosophy of technology and STS disciplines is to reflect upon our changed human condition and propose new ways to think through the quandaries technologies generate. 

Reflecting on the emergence of information and communication technologies (ICTs), several questions may be raised: How do our lives change in an information society? What role do ICTs play in culture, politics, or social revolutions? How do ICTs shape the global economy? What new challenges do ICTs present to the public sphere and to individual privacy? How do ICTs affect human cognition and aesthetic sensibilities? How are ICT converging with nano and biotechnologies? Do ICTs stimulate ideas of new technological utopias? Many other topics can be addressed and are welcome!

As in previous SPT conferences, contributions from a variety of disciplines are encouraged. Bringing together scholars and practitioners from a wide spectrum of fields, who focus on understanding the relationship of technology and the human condition is a goal of the conference. Showcasing contributions from philosophers, social scientist, natural scientists, engineers, and policy makers, SPT conferences provide lively and thought-provoking interdisciplinary discussion. 

English is the official language of the conference.

The list of tracks outlined below is suggestive of the topics that will be considered, but does by no means restrict them: 

1. ICTs 1: globalization, informational economy and commodification
2. ICTs 2: control, discrimination and surveillance
3. ICTs 3: Webs, imaginaries and utopias
4. ICTs 4: new media, public space and democracy
5. ICTs 5: politics, alternatives and revolutions,
6. Consumption and mobile lifestyles
7. Informatics, nano- and bio-technological convergences
8. Materiality and immateriality in the digital era
9. Information and aesthetics
10. Reflective practice and the ethics of complex, sociotechnical systems 1
11. Philosophy of engineering and design
12. Phenomenology of technology
13. Ethics, Politics and the Good Life
14. Environment, Sustainability, and Risks
15. Technology, gender and culture
16. Technological Innovation
17. Technology and Critical Thinking
18. Philosophy of Technology and Social Sciences
19. Technology for sustainability, social justice, and the well-being of everyone2

1 Co-sponsored with Forum Philosophy, Engineering, and Technology; and Council of Engineering Systems.
2 Co-sponsored with Associação Filosófica Scientiae Studia