Organised in cooperation between the University of Bonn and RWTH Aachen University and edited, among others, by Prof. Dr. Maximilian Mayer, the Special Issue will explore the meaning of autonomous life in our digital societies, question the humanistic concept of autonomy itself in our technological reality and analyse the implications of our interaction with (semi-)autonomous systems.
Contributions from all social science, humanities and technology disciplines on the following topics and issues are very welcome, but need not be limited to them:
Section 1: Theoretical approaches & interdisciplinary perspectives
What is the status of the idea of autonomy in a digital society in which mutually autonomous interactions between humans and technology have become a reality? How to define and conceptualize autonomy of machines? How will the growing influence of autonomous systems affect social structures, political systems, labor and governmental control measures?
Section 2: Contexts & applications
How are (emerging) modes of (technical) autonomy and agency reshaping societies and personal life-worlds? Which different puzzles of “automation” and “autonomy” emerge in practical contexts and fields from art, medicine and political institutions? How can cultural and systemic differences in technology policy be reflected and specified on the basis of the innovation of autonomous systems?
Section 3: Norms and ethics
Which (post-Eurocentric) epistemologies and vocabularies question/enrich the debates about “autonomy” and humanism in the new digital reality? Should autonomy be understood as an intrinsic quality or as an effect in a relationship characterized by power relations? What normative requirements must autonomous systems and infrastructures meet in communication in an ethically engaged digital society?
Section 4: Collaboration
What degree of autonomy do we ascribe to robots in a collaboration situation? What synergies arise from the collaboration between humans and autonomous systems in different contexts? What role do autonomous robots play in hybrid decision-making- processes? Can autonomous robots be conceptualized as part of an automated process?
The deadline for the submission of papers is 01 November 2023.
The link to the Call for Paper can be found in the info box below.