Cyber Civilization Research Center
Call for Paper Writing Projects Aimed at Journal Publications
The Cyber Civilization Research Center (CCRC) is planning on subsidizing graduate
students and post-doctoral researchers at Keio University, and possibly their advisers as
co-authors, to write papers with the aim of publications in internationally recognized refereedjournals.
1.

Topics of invited paper writing projects

CCRC is open to a broad range of proposals in the area of interaction between
cyber-physical systems and society. We particularly welcome those proposals that
contribute to our thinking in the following three themes the center is exploring:
Theme 1: The Implications of Connectivity on Civilization, Society, and the Self
Networked intelligence, unbound by physical limits and enhanced by key technologicaladvancements, urges humanity to reconsider foundational concepts that have defined
civilizations for centuries. For example, the notions of self, autonomy, and responsibility(that provide foundations for the design of many present day social institutions), are being
questioned with the emergence of “thinking” machines that collectively function on thenetwork. With such recognition, CCRC seeks to understand and develop the nextgeneration of social principles to govern both the technology and society.
Theme 2: Virtual and Physical Infrastructural Security in a Connected AgeWith the advances in IoT (Internet of Things) and AI (Artificial Intelligence), cyber civilization
is becoming ever more vulnerable to cyber threats. Without addressing this issue, we will
not be able to fully benefit from the promised capabilities of information technologies. By
better understanding how pervasive technology has become to individual, national, andinternational security, we may be able to understand how to defend it from malicious actorsand mitigate overspills from the virtual to the physical and vice versa.
Theme 3: Cyber Civilization Risks and Resilience
Beyond direct attacks on information technology systems, cyber civilization can also face avariety of civilization risks. Such risks may include unethical use of powerful technologies forweapons, social instability by loss of jobs, and loss of human control over markets, to namejust a few. The consequences of natural born risks, including earthquakes, typhoons,tsunamis etc. would have different character and magnitude in the cyber civilization age
from that of previous ones. CCRC thus seeks to explore civilization risks that are of a largemagnitude and can risk both the virtual and physical manifestation of society. Based on thedeeper understanding of the nature of the risks, we would also like to explore howtechnological and societal systems can be resilient, i.e. have the capability to recover fromdamages quickly, in a cyber civilization.
2.

Assistance provided

Up to ¥ 500,000 will be allocated to each project, amounting to a total of six projects. The
fund can be provided to hiring students and other expenses, subject to the discretion of thecenter.
3.

Submission of Proposal

Interested students and post-doctoral researchers should write a proposal of about 1000
words and no more than 2000 words in English that contain:①

Name of the primary author and his/her affiliation and contact e-mail address.

②

Tentative title of the paper to be written③

Tentative summary of the paper to be written④

Intended for Journal publication or publication in proceedings of highly competitive andrecognized regularly-held academic conferences.

⑤

Intended timing of the submission to the journal

Initial proposal deadline is set at April 26, 2019. If you are requesting to hire students,
please add their CVs.
Shortlisted proposals will be announced in mid-May 2019. Authors will have to report toCCRC on the intended paper submission to any refereed conferences and journals forapproval in the next 6 months.
4.

Credit

The paper should be submitted to the journal under the Keio University affiliation and shouldnote that the paper was prepared under the sponsorship of Keio University Cyber
Civilization Research Center. While we require the submission of the manuscript for therecord, we do not ask for copyrights to the papers. We will ask for our right to disclose thenames of authors and papers written as output of the center, when the papers are madepublicly available.
5.

Submissions and Inquiries

prize@www.ccrc.keio.ac.jp