The Introduction of 4th International Conference on Philosophy of Information ^†

The 4th International Conference on Philosophy of Information (ICPI), under the joint efforts of IS4SI (International Society for Information Studies), IS4SI Chinese Chapter, and the International Center of Philosophy of Information in Xi’an Jiaotong University, was held in Berkeley, California, in June 2019. The previous ICPI conferences were held in Xi’an, China, in 2013, Vienna, Austria, in 2015, and Gothenburg, Sweden, in 2017.

The theme of this conference was the development of the philosophy of information and an intelligent society, the philosophical foundation and institutional appeals of an intelligent society, and the new evolution of human beings, in appealing to the new trend of informationalization, a rising society of becoming more knowledgeable and intelligent, and the prospects of an intelligent society for future mankind.

This theme covers a wide range of topics, including the comparative study of the concepts, ideas, and theories in information science, the philosophy of information and related fields, and the development prospects of an intelligent society, its ethical issues, political and economic institutional issues among others.

There were 46 papers accepted, and 39 of them had been presented. Among them, 14 papers discussed the philosophy of information and the development of an intelligent society, such as analyzing a human being’s living conditions in an intelligent society, appealing to the sharing scheme of an intelligent society, reflecting on the ecological dilemma and practical ethics faced by an intelligent society, discussing the relevant questions about a sustainable global development of an information society, the new evolvement of human nature in an intelligent society, the coming of an intelligent society and the future development of human beings, as well as a study on the relevant questions about a future world of human–computer symbiosis. More diversified topics are also covered, including nine papers about the philosophical questions in cognitive science; six papers about the fundamental theory study on the philosophy of information; six papers about the study on information culture and an information society; five papers about the philosophical questions in artificial intelligence; five papers about the information questions in sports and arts; and one paper about the history of information philosophy.

Compared with the previous three ICPIs, the accepted papers of this conference share a prominent feature, which is that the study on the philosophy of information is more closely related to the development of science, society, economy, and culture, especially paying more attention to the social application and practice. Besides, some papers combine the philosophy of information with concrete scientific and artistic fields, exploring new research areas, such as the discussion on the information factors and features and information mechanisms within the areas of sports, Chinese traditional painting, music, and aesthetics.