Those of you who have been talking about the Iraq war lately might find this to be of some interest.
davew ************* Technology in Wartime Conference - CALL FOR PARTICIPATION Sponsored by: Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility (CPSR) Date: January 26, 2008 Location: Stanford University CPSR seeks proposals for a winter 2008 conference called Technology in Wartime. This conference will explore how computer technology is used during wartime. Topics will range from high tech weapons systems and internet surveillance, to privacy-enhancing technologies that aid human rights workers documenting conditions in war-torn countries and help soldiers communicate their experiences in blogs and e-mail. We are also interested in the history of computer-aided weapons systems. Our goal will be to consider the ethical implications of wartime technologies and how these technologies are likely to affect civilization in years to come. Ultimately we want to engage a pressing question of our time: What should socially-responsible computer professionals do in a time of high tech warfare? We welcome proposals from technology experts, policy-makers, scholars, and human rights workers on the issues outlined above. Possible topics include: weaponizing computer technologies; robotics; UAVs; sensor networks; internet surveillance; human rights technologies; datamining; biometric software; CCTV; surveillance camera networks; cyberterrorism; privacy-enhancing technologies for dissidents, human rights workers and journalists in wartime; the history of computer-aided warfare; high tech antiwar protests; geolocation and GPS; smart armor; blogs/podcasts in war zones; embedded bloggers; and life-saving technologies for soldiers. We are interested in factual reports on these issues as well as social commentary. The proceedings will be broadcast live on the Web, and the presentations collected in book form online, released under a CC license, and made available to the public and policy makers looking for expert opinions on wartime technology issues during the election year. Technology in Wartime will not be pro-war or anti-war, right-wing or left-wing -- it will deal with the facts of wartime technologies, and consider ethical effects from many perspectives. About submitting a proposal: Proposals are welcome in the form of paper presentations, descriptions of current research projects, and panels. Technical demonstrations are also a possibility. All participants (including panelists) are expected to produce a ready-for-publication article to be published in the proceedings. Reasonable travel expenses (coach airfare to conference location plus two nights hotel) will be reimbursed. If you are submitting a proposal for a panel, be sure to include information about each of the proposed speakers and topics. Please submit a one-page abstract of your proposal, a short biography, and cover letter by Oct. 15, 2007 to [EMAIL PROTECTED] We will notify speakers by Nov. 1. *********** ============================================================ FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org
