Coined by Neal Stephenson in his 1992 novel Snow Crash, the term "metaverse" describes a virtual world where virtual real estate can be bought and sold and where VR goggle-wearing users inhabit 3D avatars whose form they have the freedom to choose. And now, it is a major buzzword in the worlds of tech, business, and finance. With VR interfaces, digital ownership, and avatars, the current conceptions of the metaverse aim to construct a graphically rich virtual space, with some degree of verisimilitude, where people can enjoy co-presence. Is it a marketing ploy or a possible utopia for human futures? How are human cognition shaped and expected to be reshaped within a metaverse or metaverses? How will space be reproduced and reimagined? Will the metaverse be the engine of social innovation? Will it promote social well-being? What new opportunities will it bring to the development of the cultural and creative industries? With all those concerns, we look forward to inviting interdisciplinary discussions on new concepts, methods, and applications of the metaverse.
Encouraging in-depth and high-quality conversation on a small scale, our workshop will invite 8-10 young researchers to bring together interdisciplinary reflexivity and the potential application of metaverse. Young scholars, including junior faculty members, postdocs, and Ph.D. students, will engage in interdisciplinary discussions on neurocognition, augmented reality, brain-computer interface, touch media, virtuality reconstruction, and virtual people through this platform. We hope to stimulate innovative tools to imagine the future of metaverse for theoretical reflection, technological dynamism, communication mechanisms, and model construction. In this workshop, we will host academic panels, roundtables, and lunch sessions, followed by a speech of the cutting-edge technological enterprises in Shanghai (depending on the epidemic control policy).
This workshop is organized by ICCI of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and co-hosted by The Center for Research on Cultural Innovation and Development at ICCI, SJTU, eLaw - Center for Law and Digital Technologies, Leiden University， and AI-ART Research Center of Northwestern Polytechnical University.
We strongly encourage papers that engage in interdisciplinary and boundary-crossing knowledge sharing and building. Themes may include but are not limited to:
- Urban cultural creativity and digital governance
- Production of virtual space and cultural identity
- Cultural tourism and media convergence
- Digital production and operation of film and television
- Digital communication and intangible cultural heritage
- User behavior neurocognition Science
- Empowerment of technology and science communication
- NFT and digital copyright
- Human-computer interaction and digital twins
- Intelligent design and computational aesthetics
- Human-computer symbiosis and virtual humans
Schedules
July 2nd, 2022 8:00-12:00 Registration
July 3rd, 2022 8:00-17:00 Academic exchanges
- 8:00-12:00 Panels and Talks
- 12:00-14:00 Lunch Sessions
- 14:00-17:00 Roundtables
Location: USC-SJTU Institute of Cultural and Creative Industry (ICCI) A7-A8 Building, 155 Tanjiatang Rd., Minhang District, Shanghai
The workshop will also be hosted online in a hybrid mode (both online and offline), with opportunities for new interactions between the place-based and online conferences through Tencent meeting room (due to Covid-19 pandemic).
Paper Submission
We invite you to send extended abstracts of papers for presentation at the workshop to organizers (icci-conf@sjtu.edu.cn) with the note “Youth Space Workshop on Metaverse” in the subject of the email. Papers could be written in both English and Chinese. Our workshop will be supported by journals from both China and overseas.
Potential Participants
Junior faculty members, postdoc, and Ph.D. students from communication studies, arts, computer science, management, design, sociology, laws, anthropology, and other social sciences are welcomed.
Importance Dates
Submission deadline: June 1st, 2022
Decision date：June 20th, 2022
Fees
With the aims of cultivating young talent and promoting international exchange, this workshop will be free to its participants. We will also cover the expenses for lunch, accommodations, transportation during the event(depending on the regulations of anti-Covid-19).
Contact
Dr. Hongyan Yue
Cell: 18038019865
Email: echobird@sjtu.edu.cn