Press release University of Vienna: https://philtech.univie.ac.at/news/news-about-publicatons-etc/news/mark-coeckelbergh-appointed-member-of-eu-high-level-expert-group-on-ai/?tx_news_pi1%5Bcontroller%5D=News&tx_news_pi1%5Baction%5D=detail&cHash=30b05a6f526072c3a3d19e38576780cb
More information on the High Level Expert Group: https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/high-level-group-artificial-intelligence
From February 14-17, Vienna hosted the international, transdisciplinary research conference Robophilosophy 2018 as a part of the biennial Robophilosophy Conference Series.
More than 200 participants gathered at the Campus of the University of Vienna to share and discuss their views on social robotics, policies regarding robotics and automation, machine ethics, and several topics more.
It was truly an honor to organize this conference with my team and our co-organizers.
I would like to thank all sponsors, (co-)organizers, and the conference staff for their dedicated support. Also, I want to thank our participants and speakers for joining us in Vienna on this special occasion.
Another thank you goes out to the press representatives, who have spread the word on this important topic to the public. Details on media coverage will soon be available under Media Coverage Robophilosophy 2018 on my website, and on the official conference website.
Main Organizers of Robophilosophy 2018:
Mark Coeckelbergh, Janina Loh, and Michael Funk
Chair of Media and Technology, University of Vienna
Organizers of the Robophilosophy Conference Series and Co-Organizers RP2018:
Johanna Seibt, and Marco Nørskov, Research Unit for Robophilosophy, Aarhus University see also Research Network TRANSOR
Funding was provided by the Carlsberg Foundation, the Austrian Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology, the Faculty of Philosophy and Education, University of Vienna, the Danish Council for Independent Research, and the Vienna Convention Bureau.
Keynote Speakers
Oliver Bendel
Joanna Bryson
Raja Chatila
Juha Heikkilä
Hiroshi Ishiguro
Catelijne Muller
Simon Penny
Guy Standing
Robert Trappl
More information on the program, individual sessions and workshops can be found on the official website.
I have been selected as finalist in the category Ethics for the 2017 World Technology Awards.
It is a great pleasure to be therefore considered a Fellow of the World Technology Network (WTN) – a peer-elected community of innovative organizations and individuals working in science, technology and related fields around the world.
I have been invited to give a talk on the ethical dilemmas of robotics at the lunch debate Robots: ethical or unethical? at UNESCO, Paris, France on November 10, 2017.
Find more information on the event here.
Also, UNESCO gives an overview of their endeavors in this field here.
Very happy to let you know that my new book on language and technology is out now with Routledge:
Published by Routledge, see here: http://bit.ly/2sQ877Q
Content. This book offers a systematic framework for thinking about the relationship between language and technology and an argument for interweaving thinking about technology with thinking about language. The main claim of philosophy of technology—that technologies are not mere tools and artefacts not mere things, but crucially and significantly shape what we perceive, do, and are—is re-thought in a way that accounts for the role of language in human technological experiences and practices. Engaging with work by Wittgenstein, Heidegger, McLuhan, Searle, Ihde, Latour, Ricoeur, and many others, the author critically responds to, and constructs a synthesis of, three “extreme”, idealtype, untenable positions: (1) only humans speak and neither language nor technologies speak, (2) only language speaks and neither humans nor technologies speak, and (3) only technology speaks and neither humans nor language speak. The construction of this synthesis goes hand in hand with a narrative about subjects and objects that become entangled and constitute one another. Using Words and Things thus draws in central discussions from other subdisciplines in philosophy, such as philosophy of language, epistemology, and metaphysics, to offer an original theory of the relationship between language and (philosophy of) technology centered on use, performance, and narrative, and taking a transcendental turn.
With promo code: Product Flyer
Very happy to let you know that my new book on language and technology is out now with Routledge:
Published by Routledge, see here: http://bit.ly/2sQ877Q
Content. This book offers a systematic framework for thinking about the relationship between language and technology and an argument for interweaving thinking about technology with thinking about language. The main claim of philosophy of technology—that technologies are not mere tools and artefacts not mere things, but crucially and significantly shape what we perceive, do, and are—is re-thought in a way that accounts for the role of language in human technological experiences and practices. Engaging with work by Wittgenstein, Heidegger, McLuhan, Searle, Ihde, Latour, Ricoeur, and many others, the author critically responds to, and constructs a synthesis of, three “extreme”, idealtype, untenable positions: (1) only humans speak and neither language nor technologies speak, (2) only language speaks and neither humans nor technologies speak, and (3) only technology speaks and neither humans nor language speak. The construction of this synthesis goes hand in hand with a narrative about subjects and objects that become entangled and constitute one another. Using Words and Things thus draws in central discussions from other subdisciplines in philosophy, such as philosophy of language, epistemology, and metaphysics, to offer an original theory of the relationship between language and (philosophy of) technology centered on use, performance, and narrative, and taking a transcendental turn.
We invite submissions for research contributions that offer discussions of aspects of social robotics written for interdisciplinary research discussion, from the point of view of one or more (but not limited to) the following disciplines: Philosophy (ontology, philosophy of mind and cognitive science, epistemology and knowledge representation, political philosophy, and philosophy of technology, also in culturally comparative perspective), Anthropology Psychology, Political Science, Law, Economy, Sociology, Cognitive Science, Communication Studies, Linguistics, Interaction Studies Robotics, Computer Science, Engineering Art.
We invite extended abstracts with references (min. 1000 words, max. 2000 words, excluding references) for research papers on the themes listed above.
Deadline: October 31, 2017; please use formating templates and submission link given here.
We invite abstracts for workshops and panels (1000-3000 words, describing topic, format, and speakers). Workshops will take 2-hour to 4-hour slots, depending on the proposal and on availability of slots in the final program. Panels will take two-hour slots and, like the other submitted papers, should directly address the workshop theme. The format for workshops is free.
Deadline: September 15, 2017; please use formating templates and submission link given here.
We invite abstracts (1000 words) for posters and for art installations or performances.
Deadline: October 31, 2017; please use formating templates and submission link given here.
Proud to have been inaugurated as President of the Society for Philosophy and Technology (SPT) at last week’s SPT Conference The Grammar of Things in Darmstadt (June 14 – 17). Looking forward to serve SPT in this role and excited about what this function will bring during the upcoming years, and motivated by the fact that Shannon Vallor – former president of the SPT – has been doing such an impressively good job on this… the bar has been set high!
(pictures by Peter Rantasa and Janina Loh, thanks to both of them for capturing the moment)
Mark Coeckelbergh 