CALL FOR PAPERS – Closing conference of ZiF Research Group “Economic and Legal Challenges in the Advent of Smart Products”

The Center for Interdisciplinary Research (ZiF) of Bielefeld University is pleased to announce the closing conference of its Research Group “Economic and Legal Challenges in the Advent of Smart Products”. The conference aims to provide a platform for both disciplinary and in- terdisciplinary exchange on topics related to the development and legal regulation of smart products, as well as factors determining their acceptance and diffusion.

Questions of particular interest include:

• How are innovation activities of firms affected by the legal environment?
• How do specific features of smart products affect consumers’ trust in these products and

  their willingness to adopt?

• What are the implications when decisions are taken by non-legal entities such as algo-

  rithms (e.g. pricing, court decisions, behavior of autonomous vehicles or household ro-

  bots)?

• How to deal with the major regulatory challenges arising in the age of smart products?

  We are mainly inviting papers with an economic and/or legal perspective on such questions (thereby using various methodological approaches), but we also welcome submissions from other disciplines such as philosophy, sociology, engineering, and data sciences.

  KEYNOTES:

  Alessandro Acquisti (Carnegie Mellon University) and Gerhard Wagner (Humboldt University Berlin)

  FEES, COSTS AND REGISTRATION:

  There is no participation fee, but participants need to register for the conference in advance. ZiF will cover the cost for travel and accommodation for speakers and discussants according to its regulations.

  CONFERENCE FORMAT:
  The conference takes place in person at ZiF, but online participation will also be possible.

  SUBMISSIONS:

  Please submit either a full paper or an extended abstract (written in English, preferably as PDF) by March 1, 2023 to: smart-products@uni-bielefeld.de.