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September 2025

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Celebrating 60 Years of ELIZA? Special Issue CfP
by Magnus Rust 05 Sep '25

05 Sep '25

Dear SIGCIS members, On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of ELIZA, the chatbot introduced to the public by Joseph Weizenbaum in 1966, Christian Strippel (Weizenbaum Institute, Berlin, Germany) and myself (University of Basel, Switzerland) are editing a Special Issue for publication in the Weizenbaum Journal of the Digital Society (WJDS) next year. We welcome contributions that recount the technical history of chatbots and AI programs, as well as those that focus on the social and cultural contexts. We are reaching out to researchers working in the fields of history of technology, media studies or critical code studies. You can find all the information about this Special Issue in the Call for Papers: https://ojs.weizenbaum-institut.de/index.php/wjds/announcement/view/8 We would highly appreciate if you would consider submitting suitable work and/or forwarding the Call for Papers to interested colleagues. Thanks a lot! Best, Magnus Magnus Rust | Assistant Department of Media Studies University of Basel Tel. +41 61 207 67 43 magnus.rust(a)unibas.ch<mailto:magnus.rust@unibas.ch> -- Call for Papers: https://ojs.weizenbaum-institut.de/index.php/wjds/announcement/view/8 Abstract Sixty years ago, Joseph Weizenbaum introduced ELIZA, one of the first computer chat programs, which became a landmark in the early history of Artificial Intelligence. Although ELIZA relied only on simple keyword detection and predefined response templates, it sparked the so-called “ELIZA effect,” enabled the first automated chatbot exchanges on the ARPANET, and is still regarded as a precursor to today’s systems such as ChatGPT. At the same time, ELIZA marked the beginning of Weizenbaum’s critical engagement with AI research and its societal implications. On the occasion of its 60th anniversary, this Special Issue seeks to explore the historical, technical, and societal significance of ELIZA from an interdisciplinary perspective. It aims to relate this legacy to current developments in generative AI and robotics, and to ask what—if anything—there is to celebrate six decades after ELIZA. Individual submissions to the special issue could cover, but are not limited to, the following topics: • Automating of Psychotherapy. How have psychiatrists, psychologists, and therapists actually used computers and text-based programs in their work over the past few decades? What imaginaries are mobilized and produced in these applications? • Authoring AI. What genealogies follow ELIZA, not as a psychotherapist, but as an author and co-pilot in the writing of all kinds of texts? What successes and failures have been celebrated in this history of human-machine interaction? • Commercializing AI. How were “expert systems” and other commercial AI tools received by the industry? What changes did they bring it for employees and workers? What does AI mean for the future of work in factories and offices? • Anthropomorphizing of AI. What does the humanization of chatbots and other computer programs mean for our perception of AI? How does it shape our expectations of such technologies? How does it affect our image of humans? • Mythologization of AI. How have AI myths developed since the 1950s? Why are dystopian accounts of AI so particularly successful? Why do we listen to the developers of AI when it comes to critically assessing the technologies they have helped build? • Gendering of AI. How has the gendering of AI, robots, and chatbots evolved since ELIZA? What can we learn about our society from it? What impact does it have on the use and social consequences of such technologies? Key Dates • Abstract submission deadline: November 17, 2025 • Invitation of full papers: December 1, 2025 • Full Paper submission deadline: April 6, 2026 • Notification of acceptance and reviews available: July 6, 2026 • Paper revision deadline: October 5, 2026 • Issue release: November–December 2026 For inquiries about the special issue, please contact the guest editors (christian.strippel(a)weizenbaum-institut.de<mailto:christian.strippel@weizenbaum-institut.de>, magnus.rust(a)unibas.ch<mailto:magnus.rust@unibas.ch>).

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In three weeks: SIGCIS 2025: Power Surge (virtual edition): 9/25-27 w/ keynote speaker Lily Geismer
by Gili Vidan 04 Sep '25

04 Sep '25

Dear SIGCIS community, We're excited to share the program for this year's virtual edition of *SIGCIS 2025: Power Surge <https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nKvXJt8ZKmzuQTLliKKHGFFE1ygINuUkOJKp_i-…>* ! We have a fantastic lineup of presenters and we're excited to feature our keynote speaker, Lily Geismer (History, Claremont McKenna College) and launch our new works-in-progress mentorship program, with 4 senior mentors and 6 graduate students workshopping their manuscripts. The conference will take place virtually, across multiple time zones on *9/25-27*. Those who register will receive a Zoom link in the days leading up to the conference. Registration to the conference is now open (pay-what-you-can model). See more details and register here: https://meetings.sigcis.org/registration.html. Please see the SIGCIS website (meetings.sigcis.org) and follow SIGCIS on bsky <https://bsky.app/profile/sigcisconf.bsky.social> for general conference announcements and details in the coming weeks. The SIGCIS Meetings Organizing Committee: Morgan Ames (SIGCIS Vice-Chair of Meetings), Katya Babintseva, Xiaochang Li, Colette Perold, and Gili Vidan --- Gili Vidan Assistant Professor | Information Science | Cornell University Pronouns: she/her

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