March 2019 - Members - lists.sigcis.org

Call for Nominations: Mahoney Prize, 2019
by Andrew Russell 22 Mar '19

22 Mar '19

Dear colleagues - Please help SIGCIS share this announcement widely. The Mahoney Prize recognizes an outstanding article in the history of computing and information technology, broadly conceived. The Mahoney Prize commemorates the late Princeton scholar Michael S. Mahoney, whose profound contributions to the history of computing came from his many articles and book chapters. The prize consists of a $500 award and a certificate. For the 2019 prize, articles published in the preceding three years (2016, 2017, and 2018) are eligible for nomination. The Mahoney Prize is awarded by the Special Interest Group in Computers, Information, and Society (SIGCIS) and is presented during the annual meeting of our parent group, the Society for the History of Technology. The deadline for submission for the 2019 Mahoney Prize is May 1, 2019. Nominated articles should be sent via email to each member of the committee. For committee member email addresses and more information, please visit https://www.sigcis.org/mahoneyprize <https://www.sigcis.org/mahoneyprize>. Many thanks, Andy Russell SIGCIS Chair

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Call for Presenters: SHOT 2019 Panel
by Allen, Kera J 21 Mar '19

21 Mar '19

Dear SIGCIS Members, My colleague and I have submitted an open session proposal for the upcoming SHOT meeting in Milan, Italy titled: Technologies in Transition: Exploring the Expansion of Accessibility (details below). If you are interested in joining the panel, please submit a CV and abstract (250-500 words) via email to both Kera Allen (kera.allen(a)gatech.edu<mailto:kera.allen@gatech.edu>) and Mario Bianchini (mbianchini6(a)gatech.edu<mailto:mbianchini6@gatech.edu>) by March 25th, 2019. Details: This panel will explore attempts at broader access for technological adoption, both successes and failures. Such attempts may include the development of technical features toward inclusivity or economic, political, and social actors aligning with and accelerating adoption. We will be discussing VisiCalc, the first electronic spreadsheet for the microcomputer, and East German computer toys as accelerating (or attempting to) the adoption of personal computers. Panelists may examine how various groups shaped technologies, intending and allowing for a wider spectrum of users to expand access and grow user bases. Potential topics include: * Educational methods for increasing access, such as expanding STEM development for marginalized groups * Successes and failures of attempts at access, such as technology that directly included or indirectly excluded groups along race, gender, (dis)ability, sexuality, etc * Killer application histories. Killer applications are those of new technologies or products seen as indispensable or superior to those before * Projects (attempts and failures) to disseminate technologies globally More information about the panel can be found here: https://www.historyoftechnology.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/SHOT2019_ope… Thank you! Kera Allen Ph.D. Candidate School of History and Sociology Georgia Institute of Technology

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Internet Histories, Volume 3, Issue 1, March 2019 is now available online
by Asger Harlung 16 Mar '19

16 Mar '19

The journal Internet Histories to announce that Volume 3, Issue 1 has been completed, and is available online. Below, please find an overview of contents of this double issue. Please also consider submitting an article to the journal, more information about submission can be found here http://www.tandfonline.com/action/authorSubmission?journalCode=rint20&page=…. This information is sent out as BCC email to contacts and messageboards specified by the editors. It is not a newsletter, but a direct email with information that we hope will be of interest. Kind regards on behalf of the Internet Histories editorial team, Asger Harlung, Editorial Assistant, Internet Histories Internet Histories, Volume 3, Issue 1, March 2019<https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rint20/3/1> is now available online This new issue contains the following articles: Article ARPANET (1969-2019)<https://www.tandfonline.com/action/doSecureKeyLogin?uuid=06eb5cc1-0aa1-46cd…> Camille Paloque-Bergès & Valérie Schafer Pages: 1-14 | DOI: 10.1080/24701475.2018.1560921 Articles Hot potatoes and postmen: how packet switching became ARPANET's greatest legacy<https://www.tandfonline.com/action/doSecureKeyLogin?uuid=06eb5cc1-0aa1-46cd…> Morten Bay Pages: 15-30 | DOI: 10.1080/24701475.2018.1544726 ARPANET and its boundary devices: modems, IMPs, and the inter-structuralism of infrastructures<https://www.tandfonline.com/action/doSecureKeyLogin?uuid=06eb5cc1-0aa1-46cd…> Fenwick McKelvey & Kevin Driscoll Pages: 31-50 | DOI: 10.1080/24701475.2018.1548138 Back to the roots of ARPANET and Internet history with Alexandre Serres<https://www.tandfonline.com/action/doSecureKeyLogin?uuid=06eb5cc1-0aa1-46cd…> Valérie Schafer, Sarah Cooper & Camille Paloque-Bergès Pages: 51-67 | DOI: 10.1080/24701475.2018.1560680 Interview Conversation with a pioneer: Larry Roberts on how he led the design and construction of the ARPANET<https://www.tandfonline.com/action/doSecureKeyLogin?uuid=06eb5cc1-0aa1-46cd…> Morten Bay Pages: 68-80 | DOI: 10.1080/24701475.2018.1544727 Article French memories about the ARPANET: a conversation with Michel Élie and Gérard Le Lann<https://www.tandfonline.com/action/doSecureKeyLogin?uuid=06eb5cc1-0aa1-46cd…> Camille Paloque-Bergès & Valérie Schafer Pages: 81-97 | DOI: 10.1080/24701475.2018.1536934 Book Reviews Networked Selves: Trajectories of Blogging in the United States and France, by I.Siles, New York, Peter Lang, 2017. ISBN-978-1-4331-4710-4<https://www.tandfonline.com/action/doSecureKeyLogin?uuid=06eb5cc1-0aa1-46cd…> Elisabetta Locatelli Pages: 98-100 | DOI: 10.1080/24701475.2019.1565555 Book Review Life 3.0: being human in the age of artificial intelligence<https://www.tandfonline.com/action/doSecureKeyLogin?uuid=06eb5cc1-0aa1-46cd…> Anne Lauscher Pages: 101-103 | DOI: 10.1080/24701475.2019.1565556

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Fwd: [III workshop] 6th III Workshop 2019 *CALL FOR PAPERS*
by Paul N. Edwards 15 Mar '19

15 Mar '19

This is an interesting meeting, now in its 6th year. Not focused on history per se, but historians are welcome and can have a lot to add. Note the “platforms vs. infrastructures” theme. - Paul Dear All, Please find attached the *CALL FOR PAPERS* for the 6th edition of the Innovation in Information Infrastructures Workshop which will be held in the University of Surrey, Guildford, UK. The University of Surrey is located in Guildford, Surrey, approximately 35/40 min from London with trains running from and to Waterloo every 15 min, Here a video to have a glimpse of the campus https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gq10IYUawbo The workshop will take place from the 18th to the 20th of September 2019 For the 2019 edition of the workshop we will welcome contributions on the general theme of Innovation of Information Infrastructures and on the special theme of Platform Ecosystems and Information Infrastructures. The format of the submission remains the same (short papers 3 to 4 pages). Paper can be submitted on EasyChair at the following link: https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=iii2019 Deadline for submission is on 11th of June 2019. Info and contact: iii2019(a)easychair.org<mailto:iii2019@easychair.org> c.alaimo(a)surrey.ac.uk<mailto:c.alaimo@surrey.ac.uk> Best wishes Cristina Dr Cristina Alaimo Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Digital Economy Department of Digital Economy, Entrepreneurship and Innovation Surrey CoDE | Centre for the Digital Economy | Surrey Business School, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK https://www.surrey.ac.uk/people/cristina-alaimo T: +44 (0)1483 68 3047 E: c.alaimo(a)surrey.ac.uk<mailto:c.alaimo@surrey.ac.uk> Twitter: @cristina_alaimo Latest paper: Alaimo C. and Kallinikos J. (2017) Computing the everyday: Social media as data platforms. The Information Society, 33 (4), pp. 175-191. Best Published Paper Award, First Runner up, Academy of Management OCIS 2018 ___________________________ Paul N. Edwards William J. Perry Fellow in International Security Center for International Security and Cooperation<http://cisac.fsi.stanford.edu/> Stanford University Professor of Information<http://www.si.umich.edu/> and History<http://www.lsa.umich.edu/history/> (Emeritus) University of Michigan Contact: m: pedwards(a)stanford.edu<mailto:pedwards@stanford.edu> w: pne.people.si.umich.edu<http://pne.people.si.umich.edu> t: @AVastMachine

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Fwd: CFP: History of AI 2019 @ Columbia U // Abstracts Due March 18
by Joly MacFie 14 Mar '19

14 Mar '19

FYI from my Inbox ---------- Forwarded message --------- Towards a History of Artificial IntelligenceWorkshop at Columbia University May 24, 2019 https://matthewljones.github.io/historyai2019/ <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__matthewljones.github.i…> *Due date for abstracts: March 18, 2019, 5pm EST.* No thorough professional history of artificial intelligence and machine learning from World War II to the present exists, despite the longstanding importance of the field to intellectual history, the history of science and technology, and its spectacular and explosive rise in quotidian systems worldwide in the last decade, for good, for evil—and, well, for–the jury’s still out. Numerous participant histories, written by former researchers, provide a rich if largely internalist view of the field’s development. No one scholar could write such a broad ranging history with authority. We seek to scaffold one by bringing together a broad community of scholars. In May 2019, with support from Center for Science and Society at Columbia University and the Leverhulme Center for the Future of Intelligence (CFI) at the University of Cambridge, a group of historians will gather to share their current research and plan a short volume on the major stages of AI’s development since the Second World War. While seeking to revisit major narratives centered on the UK and US, we plan as much as possible to incorporate a global story of AI, which has often been told predominantly in an Anglo-American framework, and to draw together a capacious range of methodological approaches, kinds of histories, and historians. Each participant will provide a *draft* work in progress–a chapter or paper from their current research project–for circulation around three weeks before the first workshop. We will come together at Columbia this spring to discuss all the papers. The subsequent year, pending funding, we hope for each participant to return with a shorter, highly accessible, chapter, connected to their research, for a collectively authored volume. At the meeting we will first workshop the works in progress together. Second, we will plan together a collectively authored volume of short chapters (c. 10pp) providing a legible and brief introduction to the history of artificial intelligence, ideally to be published by a major press for a wide audience. Contributions from grad students and early career researchers are especially welcome, particularly from underrepresented communities. We have limited funds for travel and housing for some participants, which we plan to allocate primarily to early career scholars. We invite you to apply to join the workshop by filling out this form: https://goo.gl/forms/ddMQE36kWievsmG92 <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__goo.gl_forms_ddMQE36kW…>, including a title and abstract. Please direct questions to Matt Jones ( mjones(a)columbia.edu) and/or Jonnie Penn (jnp28(a)cam.ac.uk) The hard deadline is March 18, 2019, at 5pm. Join a new list serve on the History of AI here: https://lists.cam.ac.uk/mailman/listinfo/ucam-cfi-aihistoriansnetwork <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__lists.cam.ac.uk_mailma…> . Organizers: - Stephanie Dick, History and Sociology of Science and Medicine, Pennsylvania - Matthew L. Jones, History, Columbia; Big Data and Science Studies Cluster, Center for Science and Society - Jonnie Penn, HPS, Cambridge, Harvard Berkman-Klein, and Leverhulme Centre for History of the Future of Intelligence - Aaron Plasek, Columbia Current Funders: - Center for Science and Society, Columbia University - Division of Social Science, Columbia University - Leibniz Fund - Leverhulme Centre for History of the Future of Intelligence - -- --------------------------------------------------------------- Joly MacFie 218 565 9365 Skype:punkcast -------------------------------------------------------------- -

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Update from Smithsonian National Museum of American History
by Staiti, Alana 13 Mar '19

13 Mar '19

Dear SIGCIS, I'm delighted to share some computer history related updates at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History<http://americanhistory.si.edu/> (NMAH) in Washington DC. I recently joined the team as the Curator of the History of Computers and Information Sciences, so I do hope you'll consider me a resource. Please feel free to reach out if you have questions about the computing collection, some of which is searchable online<http://collections.si.edu/search/> (this link takes you to the Smithsonian-wide collections search page). I welcome any and all inquiries, or feel free to simply say hello! Peggy Kidwell continues to serve as Curator of Mathematics, and I'll be working closely with her and Drew Robarge, Museum Specialist, in the weeks and months ahead. As many of already know, Paul Ceruzzi is now Curator Emeritus at the National Air and Space Museum, and he continues to field aerospace computing requests. Lastly, if you are interested in applying for a research fellowship at the Smithsonian, please check out the fellowships<https://www.smithsonianofi.com/fellowship-opportunities/smithsonian-institu…> page. The Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation at NMAH offers wonderful, supportive fellowships<https://invention.si.edu/lemelson-center-fellowship-program> as well (SIGCIS member Eric Hintz coordinates these fellowships). Looking forward to being in touch! Best wishes, Alana Alana Staiti Curator of the History of Computers and Information Sciences National Museum of American History Smithsonian Institution Tel: +1 202 633-3420 staitia(a)si.edu<mailto:staitia@si.edu> americanhistory.si.edu

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Severo Ornstein's computing memoir...
by David Walden 12 Mar '19

12 Mar '19

...has been posted on the Computer History Museum's website https://www.computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/102785079 Severo worked at MIT Lincoln Lab in the SAGE, TX-2 groups, and LINC groups; continued with the LINC group in St. Louis; in the ARPANET IMP group at BBN; and at Xerox PARC, e.g., on the Alto project.

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CFP: SHOT Milan Panel 'Cybernetics and Mysticism'
by Jeffrey Mathias 12 Mar '19

12 Mar '19

Dear SIGCIS members, We are seeking two more presenters and a chair for a session on "Cybernetics and Mysticism" at the forthcoming SHOT 2019 meeting in Milan. Please let us know if you are interested by March 18th. If you have any questions, please contact us at jm2499(a)cornell.edu & mueggenburg(a)leuphana.de Best regards, Jeff Mathias and Jan Müggenburg --- *Society for the History of Technology*, Annual meeting 2019, Milan, 24-27 October 2019 *Session proposal:* "Cybernetics and Mysticism" *Organizers:* Jeffrey Mathias, Cornell University Jan Müggenburg, Leuphana University Lüneburg *Description:* “The reprobation attaching in former ages to the sin of sorcery attaches now on in many minds to the speculations of modern cybernetics” (Wiener 1963, 49). Norbert Wiener's repeated comparison of ‘modern cybernetics’ - the Cold War science of communication and control - and ancient sorcery was motivated by a humanist impulse, attempting to strictly separate superstition from science and disenchant the cybernetic machines that seemed disturbingly lively (ibid., p50). Wiener fretted over the possibility of his scientific peers exploiting the awe of the “man on the street” at these machines for political purposes. For Wiener, the sin ultimately might lie not in the sorcery of cybernetics but in “using the magic of modern automatization to further personal profit or let loose the apocalyptic terrors of nuclear war” (ibid. p. 52). Seen from a cultural historical perspective, this intuition that cybernetics might be perceived as a successor to occult and mystical practices- and that this has particular political stakes- allows us to get at the heart of many of the questions provoked by cybernetics. Indeed, cybernetics inspired and proliferated all kinds of ‘magical thinking‘. At its margins, fringe groups like L. Ron Hubbard’s Dianetics and countercultural figures such as neurophysiologist and ‘LSD guru’ John C. Lilly and video artist Paul Ryan tried to combine cybernetic theories with mystical and religious concepts (Kline 2015, p. 183) (Lilly 1972) (Sachs-Collopy 2015). Within the original cybernetic cluster, many key figures found themselves drawn to holistic and esoteric styles of thought. In his 1953 popular book *The Living Brain*, William Grey Walter, for one, couched his theoretical neurophysiology in broad speculation about telepathy, dreams, and the uncanny powers displayed by Indian yogis (Walter 1953) (Pickering 2011). Heinz von Foerster was further a certified magician and, to a certain degree, understood the construction of cybernetic machines as a continuation of his engagement with magic (Müggenburg 2018). Stafford Beer, disillusioned by the violent collapse of Project Cybersyn in Chile, turned to tantric yoga, a practice he saw as largely consonant with management cybernetics (Medina 2014). Beginning from this “mysticism” as a racialized, colonial formation, this panel this aims to take seriously the esoteric and utopian imaginaries that emerge from and subtend cybernetics and its associated sciences. A central question of the panel is thus how mystical thinking and gendered concepts of charisma and polymathy in cybernetics relate to each other. We ask how narratives of cybernetics as “an up-to-date form of Black Magic” play out central anxieties and tensions- political and personal- inherent to this variegated interdisciplinary field (Young, quoted in Kline 2015, p.183). To what ends did these imaginaries function? ---- Kline, Ron (2015): *The Cybernetics Moment. Or Why We Call Our Age the Information Age*, Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press. Lilly, John C. (1972). *Programming and metaprogramming in the human biocomputer : theory and experiments* (2nd ed.). Julian Press. Medina, Eden (2014): *Cybernetic Revolutionaries:Technology and Politics in Allendes Chile*, Cambridge, Mass.:MIT Press. Müggenburg, Jan (2018): *Lebhafte Artefakte. Heinz von Foerster und die Maschinen des Biological Computer Laboratory*, Göttingen: Konstanz University Press. Pickering, Andrew (2011): *The Cybernetic Brain. Sketches of Another Future*, Chicago: Chicago University Press. Sachs Collopy, Peter (2015): *The Revolution Will Be Videotaped: Making a Technology of Consciousness in the Long 1960s*, Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations. Walter, William Grey. (1953). *The living brain.* New York: Norton. Wiener, Norbert (1963): *God & Golem, Inc. A Comment on Certain Points were Cybernetics Impinges on Religion*, Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press. -- Jeffrey Mathias Department of Science and Technology Studies Cornell University

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Second CfA HaPoC-5, 28-30 October 2019, Bergamo, Italy
by ldemol 12 Mar '19

12 Mar '19

Dear all, please find below the second call for abstracts for the 5th international conference in the History and Philosophy of computing which is conveniently planned for 28-30 October 2019 in Bergamo, just after SHOT ;-) with best wishes, Liesbeth *HaPoC 2019: 2nd Call for Abstracts* /5th International Conference on the History and Philosophy of Computing/ 28-30 October 2019 Bergamo, Italy Website: https://hapoc2019.sciencesconf.org Email: hapoc2019(a)sciencesconf.org Today more than ever computers have taken center stage in our lives: science, economy, politics, art, there is no single human endeavour that has been left unaffected by Information Technologies. Whether this impact is positive or negative, is still very much up for debate. People connected to the Internet can enjoy an unprecedented amount of information and computing power at their disposal, but more and more negative side effects of a widespread use of computers are brought to our attention: automation bias, echo chambers, shortened attention spans, job displacement, election hacking are just a few examples. The latest AI-hype fuelled by computationally feasible machine learning techniques have brought to reality philosophical topics previously relegated to mental experiments and theoretical discourses. The trolley problem has never been more popular thanks to self-driving cars. The need to conduct a systematic and well-informed discussion in a context ranging from theoretical and mathematical problems to labour and resource exploitation issues is evident. The broken dialogue between young and aggressively finance-oriented tech moguls and old-school politicians fumbling for regulation of little-known phenomena is not promising. HaPoC’s appeal to historical and philosophical reflection aims at addressing this shortcoming. We aim to bring together researchers exploring the various aspects of computation: historians, philosophers, computer scientists, sociologists, anthropologists, designers, manufacturers, practitioners, artists, logicians, mathematicians, each with their own experience and expertise, all part of a society impacted by computation, and all necessary to the creation of a better discourse. Main Topics For HaPoC 2019, we welcome contributions from scholars who intend to participate in the debate on the impact of computers on culture, science, and society from the perspective of their area of expertise, and who are open to engage in interdisciplinary discussions across multiple fields. Topics include but are not limited to: History of computation, computers, algorithms, programs, paradigms, software and hardware companies and communities, … Philosophy of computation, philosophy of the mind in relation with computer science, ethics of computer science, epistemology of computer science… Foundational issues of computation, limits of computability, the Church-Turing thesis, formal systems, semantic of programs, … Computation in the Sciences, experiments and simulations with computers, big data analytics, epistemological issues, … Computation in Society, social networks, news and content distribution, automation, digital divide, privacy and security, … Computation in the Arts, digital art, interactivity, computer games, affective computing, human-computer interaction, … How to submit We cordially invite researchers working in a field relevant to the main topics of the conference to submit a short abstract of 180-200 words and an extended abstract of at most a 1000 words (references included) through EasyChair at: https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=hapoc2019 Accepted papers will be presented in 30 minute slots including discussion. Abstracts must be written in English. Please note that the format of uploaded files must be in .pdf. Submissions without extended abstract will not be considered. IMPORTANT DATES Submission deadline: April 30, 2019 Notification of acceptance/rejection: June 30, 2019 Conference dates: October 28-30, 2019 Travel Grants The HaPoC Council is happy to announce the availability of four HAPOC travel grants of $250 each to support participation at the conference. An accepted paper is required in order to be eligible for the grant. In order to apply, please send the following details to info(a)hapoc.org: CV and a brief (up to 200 words) description of why you require financial support The title of your HaPoC 2019 submission Detailed budget indicating any other funding possibilities (if available)

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Joint PhD on History and Philosophy of Computing (Lille and Kent)
by info＠tomasp.net 12 Mar '19

12 Mar '19

Dear all, we are inviting applications for a 3-year funded joint PhD position in History and/or Philosophy of Computing in Université de Lille (France) and University of Kent (UK). We have some possible suggested topics (see below), but the theme is not fixed, so if you (or anyone you know) is interested in doing a PhD in History and/or Philosophy of Computing in Europe, please apply or let your colleagues know! =================================================== Joint PhD Scholarship on History and Philosophy of Computing (Université de Lille and University of Kent) We rely on computers to manage our communication, access to information, finances and even health. Despite recurring reports of software failures, programming mistakes and unintended consequences, most of our understanding of how computers work is of a highly technical nature. Consider, for example, the rich conceptual arsenal that programmers have developed to help them control what computers do. Where do these programming concepts, methods and practices come from? What are their inherent limitations? And can they provide a reliable way of controlling computers, as the word "science" in "computer science" suggests? We are inviting applications for a 3-year funded PhD position in History and/or Philosophy of Computing, jointly supervised by Liesbeth De Mol (CNRS - (UMR 8163, Université de Lille), Tomas Petricek (University of Kent) and Shahid Rahman (UMR 8163, Université de Lille).The position will be shared between Université de Lille and University of Kent in Canterbury in the framework of the call for proposals of co-supervised doctorates between I-site ULNE and the University of Kent. You will be expected to spend two years in Lille and one year in Canterbury. The scope of the project is open-ended and we encourage interested applicants to informally contact us as soon as possible in order to develop a more detailed research proposal. For sample possible research topics and information about how to apply, please see: http://hapoc.org/node/303 =================================================== Thanks, Tomas Petricek

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