Call for Papers - Special Issue Proposal
Untangling the Quantum Ecology: Charting the Impact of Quantum Theory and
Quantum Technologies on Technoscience and the Digital Transformation
Guest Editors: Stefano Calzati (Joint Research Centre, European Commission) &
Robert Braun (Institute for Advanced Studies, Vienna)
This special issue proposal explores the notion of "quantum ecology" as both
an onto-epistemological framework and a technological paradigm. At the
intersection of Critical Data Studies (CDS), Science and Technology Studies
(STS), and societal-oriented interpretations of quantum theory, we aim to
interrogate how quantum principles-such as uncertainty, entanglement, and
nonlocality-can inspire alternative approaches to understanding, representing,
and enacting the physical, digital, and social world.
We invite contributions that examine the implications of quantum theory for
rethinking rationalism, binarism, determinism, and data-centric worldmakings.
How might quantum theory reconfigure debates on digital sovereignty,
algorithmic governance, or AI? What would it mean to envision digital
transformation through a relational, probabilistic, or entangled ontopolitics?
Simultaneously, we suggest to explore the sociotechnical impact of quantum
technologies (QTs), such as quantum sensing, computation, and communication.
What ethical, political, and epistemological challenges arise as QTs reshape
existing digital infrastructures? How do they disrupt prevailing modes of
measurement, representation, and simulation?
We welcome theoretical and empirical papers addressing:
- Quantum theory's insights for CDS and STS
- Rearticulations of agency, data, or design via quantum frameworks
- Sociopolitical implications of quantum sensing, computation, or AI
integration
- Alternatives to deterministic digital epistemologies
Please submit express interest by 15 August and submit abstracts (300 words)
and short bios by 1 September to:
Stefano Calzati (stefanocalzati@hotmail.com) and Robert Braun
(braun@ihs.ac.at)
Assoc. Prof. (Habil) Dr. Robert Braun
Senior Researcher|Social Sustainable Transformation
T: +43 1 59991 - 134
robert.braun@ihs.ac.at
https://www.ihs.ac.at
Institute for Advanced Studies (IHS)
Josefstdter Strae 39, 1080 Vienna
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