CALL FOR PAPERS
JOURNAL OF INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES XXXII 2020
THE DIGITAL CHALLENGE:
HOW TO HUMANIZE TECHNOLOGY
We live in an era of computerization of everyday life. Automation pervades all aspects of work and leisure, from the shop floor to education and dating services, with limitless possibilities for instant communication via iPhones, the Internet, and social media. But, is humanity becoming overly dependent on machines? Meredith Broussard cautions in Artificial Unintelligence (2018) that “computers misunderstand the world.” Simon Head points out in Mindless (2014) that smarter machines are “making dumber humans,” and that the age of machines as labor-saving devices has intensified management control of employees via Taylorism or “scientific management.” Humanoid robots pose an even greater challenge. For example, how can humans avoid emotional attachment and dependence on their creations, as explored in Sherry Turkle’s experiments with children and robots, and epitomized by the individual willing to “marry” his iPhone? The question arises: In a world dominated by machines, what is the proper role for humans? Kentaro Toyama proposes in Geek Heresy (2015) that technology is Janus-faced and that genuine social progress depends on caring humans. The future of humanity may well depend on scientists’ and humanists’ willingness and ability to bridge C. P. Snow’s famous The Two Cultures (1959) conceptual divide in order to humanize technology and promote individual fulfillment and social felicity in the global village.
Mss. Deadline: March 1, 2020. Send 1 electronic file (in MS Word or RTF) via e-mail attachment, plus 3 Both-Sided copies of: 15-25 page manuscript (ca. 5,000-7,500 words), each with a 150-175 word Abstract, typed, double-spaced, in-text citation format, author identification on a separate sheet (with postage for mss. return/SASE) to: Dr. O. Gruenwald, JIS Editor, Institute for Interdisciplinary Research, 1065 Pine Bluff Drive, Pasadena, CA 91107, USA. Early mss. submissions recommended. View Mss. Guidelines. E-mail inquiries: info at jis3.org.