22-23 Feb 2014
New York NY, U.S.A.
CALL FOR ABSTRACTS - Human Computation and the Humanities Conference
DATE: February 22-23rd, 2014
VENUE: Columbia University in the City of New York (Travel funding may be
available for selected participants)
SUBMISSIONS: 300-400 word abstract of a 4,000-5,000 word paper OR a
proposal for a discussion panel
DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS: December 22, 2013
DECISION NOTIFICATIONS: January 13, 2014
EMAIL SUBMISSIONS TO:
swarm.over.glass@gmail.com<mailto:swarm.over.glass@gmail.com>
CONFERENCE DESCRIPTION:
Human computation is an emerging area of transdisciplinary research. The
field draws on insights from computer science, complexity theory,
psychology, network theory, economics, engineering, machine learning, and
many other disciplines to explore the computational potential of systems
in which humans and machines collaborate to solve problems. Successful
applications of the theory of human computation include von Ahn?s
reCAPTCHA, Amazon.com?s mechanical turk, computationally significant games
like Fold.it?s protein folding puzzle game, and Google?s Waze platform for
monitoring traffic and road conditions.
While human computation is traditionally seen as field dominated by
mathematically-oriented work, there is room for significant humanistic
contribution. Human Computation and the Humanities (HCH) is designed to
bring philosophers, historians, literary theorists, and other humanities
scholars interested in human computation into dialog both with one another
and with more traditional human computation researchers. Mary Catherine
Bateson, in her introduction to the recent Springer Handbook on Human
Computation, suggests that this field may potentially offer ?models of
interdependence and connectivity that will convey to those who work with
them the conviction that individual voices and actions count.? The study
of human computation thus raises a number of issues relevant to the
humanities, including the nature of collective intelligence, the
metaphysics of complex systems, the prerequisites for social
collaboration, the ethics of privacy, the politics of self-organized
societies, and many others.
HCH explores this complex of questions from a transdisciplinary point
of view--one that emphasizes collaboration between the humanities and the
sciences. This conference is a supplement and follow-up to the more
general AAAI Conference on Human Computation and Crowdsourcing
(HCOMP-2013), held November 6-9, 2013 in Palm Springs, California, USA,
and comes on the heels of the publication of Springer?s Handbook of Human
Computation in December 2013. These two events will provide ample fodder
for cross-talk between the humanities and the sciences.
HCH is structured to maximize the opportunities for interdisciplinary
engagement and reflection on a broad spectrum of topics related to human
computation. HCH will highlight the transdisciplinary nature of the study
of human computation, and engage with areas of academia and culture that
might not generally participate in the discourse surrounding information
processing and computation.
We invite proposals for both paper and panel presentations from
scholars working in any field related to human computation. Submitted
abstracts should be of approximately 300-400 words, and associated papers
should be suitable for approximately 30 minute presentation time
(4,000-5,000 words). Proposed panel discussions should include a clear
description of the panel?s topic, its relationship to human computation,
and a suggested list of invited participants.
Proposals must be submitted by December 22, 2013, and should be
submitted via email to
swarm.over.glass@gmail.com<mailto:swarm.over.glass@gmail.com>. Decisions
will be announced by January 13, 2014. The HCH will be held on February
22 and 23, and will take place on the campus of Columbia University.
Travel funding may be available for selected participants.
Naturally,
Jon Lawhead
Columbia University PhD Candidate, Philosophy
Associate Editor, Human Computation<http://hcjournal.org/>
http://www.realityapologist.com