Connectionists: Call for Abstracts: Workshop on Agency In The Physical Sciences

[martin biehl]

Dear connectionists,

This is a call for abstracts for a workshop on “Agency In The Physical
Sciences,” which will be held at ECAL 2017.

*DESCRIPTION*: Agency is a ubiquitous concept in biology but virtually
non-existent in physics. Roughly, agency can be seen as an abstraction of
living organisms that focuses more on action, perception, and
goal-directedness (normativity) than on replication and growth.
"Agent-like" structures can be found in simple simulation models (physics)
such as cellular automata or reaction-diffusion systems, as well as in the
protocells of synthetic biology. However, "agent-like" currently remains an
intuitive classification. This workshop's purpose is to support research
directed towards making such a classification in a formal or quantitative
way. Relevant questions include:

* What sorts of physical structures can be said to be agents?
* What can be gained by understanding them as agents?
* What sorts of agents are they?
* And by virtue of what physical properties are they those sorts of agents?

The workshop aims to explore questions relating to agency in its most
primitive forms, both in simulation and in physical reality. To this end,
we invite both theoretical and empirical contributions on primitive agency.
* The emphasis for theoretical contributions is on clear definitions and
quantification: we are most interested in concepts that lend themselves to
a rigorous analysis.
* Empirical contributions should describe apparently purposeful, or
otherwise apparently agentive, behaviour in systems simpler than those
previously known to display such behaviour.

*ABSTRACTS*: We invite the submission of short one- or two-page abstracts.
Successful submissions will be allocated either a 10-minute or 20-minute
presentation slot; submissions should indicate which format the authors
would prefer. Presented abstracts will be collected and published on a web
page. Please send abstracts to: aips.workshop.2017 at gmail.com

*DATES*:
June 4th: Abstract submission deadline
June 25th: Notification (+/- 3 days)

*WEBSITE*: https://agencyscience.wordpress.com


Best Regards,
Eran Agmon
Martin Biehl
Christopher L Buckley
Simon McGregor
Nathaniel Virgo
Olaf Witkowski
…
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