[Infowarrior] - CFP: Technology in Wartime Conference

[Richard Forno]

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
war -- both for the purposes of combat/defense, as well as for human rights
interventions into war-torn regions. 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, military professionals,
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 techinwar at cpsr.org. We will
notify speakers by Nov. 1.

About CPSR (cpsr.org):
Since incorporating in 1983, CPSR has been at the forefront of discussions
about the ethical uses of computer technology. CPSR educates policymakers
and the public on a wide range of issues, and has incubated numerous
projects such as Privaterra, the Public Sphere Project, EPIC (the Electronic
Privacy Information Center), the 21st Century Project, the Civil Society
Project, and the CFP (Computers, Freedom & Privacy) Conference. Originally
founded by U.S. computer scientists, CPSR now has members in 26 countries on
six continents.