The First Annual ECT Lab+ Conference Gathers Researchers, Performance Artists and Philosophers

On 9th and 10th December 2021 the first annual conference organized by the European Culture and Technology Lab (ECT Lab+) took place. The ECT Lab+ is a structural unit within the European University of Technology (EUt+) with a mission to develop research in the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences within EUt+ and focus on science and technology that includes philosophy of technology.

The conference was hosted by Technological University Dublin (TU Dublin) and happened online. During the two days, researchers and performance artists presented their papers on various topics focusing on different questions related to architecture, ecology, circular economy, negantropocene, artificial intelligence, ethics, noodiversity and many others. The first day of the conference concluded with a keynote speech by Carl Mitcham, a philosopher of engineering and technology and Professor Emeritus of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences at the Colorado School of Mines, USA, who spoke about the Illusions of American Science Policy in the Anthropocene. The second keynote speech on Friday was given by philosopher Yuk Hui from the City University of Hong Kong who focused on Technodiversity in the Anthropocene. In addition to the keynote speeches and presentations of the submitted papers, a panel discussion was organized on the final day of the conference during which representatives of all 8 EUt+ universities spoke about the strategic vision of the ECT Lab+ and presented their work on technological foresight. RTU was represented in the panel discussion by Project Manager Anete Beinaroviča and the Deputy Vice Rector for Research Prof. Gatis Bažbauers.

The conference finished with the launch of the book “Aesthetics, Digital Studies and Bernard Stiegler” which includes articles by several participants of the conference and was edited by ECT Lab+ members from TU Dublin, including the head of the ECT Lab+, Professor Noel Fitzpatrick. The ECT Lab+ will continue to actively organize events throughout the following year and the second conference is planned to take place in December 2022.