The Cyborg Days

The Institute for Biomedical Ethics and History of Medicine at the University of Zurich (UZH) and the Health Ethics and Policy Lab at ETH Zurich are pleased to announce The Cyborg Days! This 3-day workshop is jointly funded by the Graduate Campus (GRC), the Digital Society Initiative (DSI), and co-sponsored by the Swiss Network for International Studie (SNIS).

 

Intelligent technologies increasingly pervade our societies. They upgrade our homes, facilitate our online and offline activities, some of them are getting increasingly integrated with our bodies. This workshop will bring together experts from various disciplines to discuss the present and future of human-technology interaction. The workshop is designed as a three-day event. Each day will focus on a specific phase of the human-technology dynamics in the digital world.

Day 1: The Human (Monday, November 26th)

The first day of the workshop will feature presentations and discussions focused on the human as a critical actor in the human-technology dynamics. Research contributions from the fields of anthropology, evolutionary biology, neuroscience, psychology, sociology and history of technology will illustrate the specific characteristics of the human species in her interaction with the external world and in relation to the development and use of technology. Discussions will focus on the specific features of human intelligence, social behavior, environmental modification, morality etc. In addition, discussions will address ethical and social questions, such as identity, morality and the aspiration to enhancement.

Day 2: The Machine (Tuesday, November 27th)

The second day of the workshop will feature presentations and discussions focused on the machine as a critical actor in the human-machine dynamics. Research contributions from the fields of robotics, artificial intelligence, neurotechnology and wearable computing will illustrate the specific characteristics of intelligent machines in their interaction with human agents. Discussions will focus on the specific features of artificial intelligence and artificially intelligent behavior. In addition, discussions
will address ethical and social questions, including technology ethics and the social consequences of digitalization and automation in key societal domains, such as information, healthcare, education, transportation, and security and warfare.

Day 3: The Merge (Wednesday, November 28th)

The last day of the workshop will synthetize the contributions from the past two days and feature presentations and discussions focused on the interaction between humans and intelligent machines in the digital era. Contributions will illustrate the specific characteristics of the human-machine interaction and prepare the terrain for the progressive integration of humans and machines. Discussions will focus on how the human-machine merge will impact fundamental notions, such as personhood, responsibility, and visions of the good life, etc. In addition, discussions will address the normative problem of guiding the upcoming human-machine merge in a manner that protects individual liberties and evenly shares social benefits.

Dates: 26 - 28.11.2018

Full program: download the file (PDF, 86 KB)

Call for Abstracts: download the file (PDF, 32 KB)

Venue: University of Zurich, Main Building, KOL G 217 EV

Places are limited. For registration and inquiries please write to vshi@ibme.uzh.ch