The Emergent Systems, Information and Society Research Group organised three workshops at the “IS4SI Summit Gothenburg 2017”, the biannual conference of the „International Society for the Study of Information“ as that society was renamed in Gothenburg. The Summit was held under the title “Digitalization for a Sustainable Society” from 12 to 16 June 2017 (see photo).

Rainer Zimmermann chaired the workshop on information in Evolutionary Systems, devoted to basic research in systems, physics, and philosophy (see detailed programme here). The title of the workshop was Possibility and Actuality: Towards a Manifesto on Evolutionary Systems. It aimed at contributing to clarifications of how matter and information can be conceptualised in the perspective of evolutionary systems

A two-days workshop on information in social media was chaired by Wolfgang Hofkirchner (see detailed programme here). Its title was Digital Netizens at the crossroads of sharing and privatising. It asked whether or not the original dreams of a global netizenship have come true. A great variety of aspects was on the agenda, among them the actual question of bubbles and rational vs. irrational discourse on social media.

Hans-Jörg Kreowski chaired the one-day workshop on information in enhanced humans (see detailed programme here). The title of the workshop was Transhumanism – the proper guide to a posthuman condition or a dangerous idea? The discussion revolved around pros and cons of ideas that favour the enhancement of the intellectual and physical capabilities of human beings beyond their current organismic limits. 

The workshops were supported by the BCSSS and the Institut für Design Science München.