[TYPES/announce] Undone Computer Science 2026: First call for presentations

[Guillaume Munch-Maccagnoni]

The following call is relevant for the TYPES community because it is 
cross-disciplinary,
and there are a few PL researchers and λ-calculists among the programme 
committee
and organisers. You can also get an idea from the programme of the 
previous edition
at undonecs.org. Ciao, —Guillaume


FIRST CALL FOR CONTRIBUTIONS — please disseminate widely to your
colleagues and networks

2nd conference on *Undone Science in Computer Science* — A conference to
explore epistemological and ethical dimensions of computer science through
the concept of undone science

* *Luxembourg, 23-25th March 2026* (hybrid)
* Calling for short talk proposals (1-3 pages abstracts)
* Submission deadline: *October 9th 2025* (anywhere on Earth)
* Post-proceedings model: we will send a call for full papers after
the conference
* Some travel funding available for speakers
* More information at <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.undonecs.org/2026/__;!!IBzWLUs!V0ebMHhQd7_-3jipgDX5e1tf58zX3yllJQoZ0L5OAz4SzYzwntn4hJnlpsdpnRFsgfVIZOFvUwW9h1G9yzbm7O9bIsZPIm7Vayo50Z5ae8I$ >


PRESENTATION

As researchers, we are committed to advancing computer science in a way
that is both epistemologically and ethically sound.
With the *Undone Computer Science* conference, we provide an informal
venue to pause and reflect on these aspects of our scientific
practices. Our goal is to *bring together computer scientists from
across the field, but also social scientists, philosophers and
historians of science, and other scholars* interested in discussing the
ethical and epistemological dimensions of our work.

We welcome abstracts exploring these dimensions, and encourage
submissions from a wide range of perspectives. *Abstracts should be
1-3 pages*, clearly outlining the main arguments and contributions of
the proposed talk.

*As a guiding question, we propose to apply the concept of undone
science [1] to computer science.* Undone science refers to questions
that are left unaddressed, ignored, or unfunded for various reasons,
yet demonstrably worthy of exploration. It highlights the idea that
the production and dissemination of knowledge are variously
influenced, leading to biases in the choice of research that is done,
and eventually in a “systematic non-production of knowledge” [2].

We might want to understand, for instance, whether the way in which
computer science is established eventually leaves out some potentially
crucial questions and areas of investigation, and what pushes some
questions or methods to be ignored whilst others might be favoured.
The striking example of AI ethics indeed reminds us of some of the
society-impacting case studies which originally motivated the
analytical concept of undone science—including corporate influence
denounced by critical voices [3], and the debate on requirements and
evaluation criteria to improve research by acting on what is funded
and published [4].

But undone science could also refer to the consequences of
“theoretical commitments” [2], i.e., dominant paradigms, when they
blind us collectively about what is worthy or not of exploration—all
the while accounts of paradigm shifts in our young domain remain rare.
It could refer as well to technical or methodological biases, such as
when the availability of certain software or hardware at the right
time determines which research idea “wins” [5], or when the haste
towards automation in algorithm design leads to a loss of valuable
insights compared to alternative paths where people are involved in
data exploration [6].

Undone science also refers originally to questions first recognised by
actors from civil society—for computer scientists, the free software
movement and civil liberties organisations come to mind.

We believe that the concept of undone science can further help bring
out the epistemological and ethical aspects of research in computer
science, and encourage submissions from a wide range of perspectives.

Undone Computer Science is an informal peer-reviewed conference with
separately reviewed post-proceedings: depending upon the eventual
number and quality of submissions, we intend to follow up the conference
with a call for full papers to be published in an open-access journal.
(Presenting at the conference does not commit to submit a full paper;
nor is it necessary to present at the conference to respond to the call
for full papers.)


POTENTIAL TOPICS

It is not necessary to be familiar with the concept of undone science in
order to contribute. *Potential topics include, but are not limited to:*

* Areas of research in computer science meeting challenges that will
require or have required *shifts in viewpoint*; conditions
responsible for *certain kinds of research being over- or
under-represented*; reasons for a set of *questions being
neglected* in an area.

* Epistemological questions and challenges, for instance arising
from the *interdisciplinary nature* of computer science, or
dealing with the articulations between theory and practice;
investigations on the values of computer science.

* How *social movements or civil society organisations* (e.g. free
software movement) play a role in identifying areas of research
being left aside, in providing new research questions, or on the
contrary in demanding that some kind of research remains undone.

* Challenges of integrating ethical and political questioning
regarding *social, economic, and environmental consequences* of
our work into the process of making “good science”. Concrete
examples of questions stemming from ethical consideration being
introduced to a domain (why/how), are welcome.

* How *ethics codes* (including for instance the ACM Code of Ethics)
can be leveraged (or fail) to present some questions as being
worthy of exploration; more broadly how guiding principles can be
put in place to enrich the research practices in an area.

* Explorations of the *influence of publishing practices* within our
community, and of popular research methodology and scientific
writing guides provided within our fields, on the selection,
execution, and dissemination of research.

* Examinations of biases and limitations present in commonly-used
*educational curricula* (for instance leading to or stemming from
a lack of diversity, be it social or methodological).

* More generally, any discussion of “systematic non-production” or
non-dissemination of knowledge in a broad sense, whether in
computer science in general or a specific area, whether past or
present; whether due to *limitations of available methodologies,
blind spots of dominant paradigms, institutional and industrial
biases, lack of social representation,* or other factors.

We look forward to receiving your abstracts, and to an engaging and
thought-provoking conference.

Sincerely,
the organisers


KEY DATES

* Submission deadline: October 9th 2025 (anywhere on Earth)
* Author notification: December 8th 2025
* Conference: 23-25th March 2026, hosted by the University of Luxembourg


SUBMITTING

* Instructions:
1. Abstracts should be 1-3 pages in length (excluding bibliography) and 
should succinctly present the key arguments and
contributions of the proposed talk. The submission can
contain appendices or a link to a longer version, but the
point of the submission should be clear from the first three
pages (reviewers are not obligated to read any further).
2. Submissions should be uploaded to EasyChair in PDF format: 
<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=undonecs26__;!!IBzWLUs!V0ebMHhQd7_-3jipgDX5e1tf58zX3yllJQoZ0L5OAz4SzYzwntn4hJnlpsdpnRFsgfVIZOFvUwW9h1G9yzbm7O9bIsZPIm7Vayo5pdtbjOs$ >
3. The conference being aimed at a wide range of research domains,
authors are welcome to include a brief biography if relevant for
the contribution (up to 5 lines).
4. Authors can opt for lightweight double-blind reviewing (with
the identity of the authors revealed to the reviewers after they
submit their review). In this case, the submission should simply
be prepared with authors and institutions omitted, and all
citations in the 3rd person. The biography can still be included
in an anonymised form (omitting the names of both people and
institutions).
5. Unfinished or exploratory contributions, that would benefit
from discussion at the conference prior to their possible
development into full papers, are welcome. There is no
submission category, but authors can make it clear in the
submission if they strongly prefer a short or a long
presentation slot.
6. For a paper accepted at the conference, at least one author is
generally expected to present in person, but we will work to
make remote presentations possible. (Feel free to inquire in
advance with the organisers.)
7. Recognising the importance of the promotion of multilingualism
in science [7], we welcome submissions in multiple languages
(e.g. translations of the same 1-3 p. talk proposal), provided
that the submission can be reviewed from the English version
alone. In addition, in special situations where a talk proposal
cannot be submitted in English, please contact the chairs in
advance to determine if the PC is able to review it.

* Acceptance criteria:
1. *Computer Science:* we seek contributions pertaining to
computer science (in a broad sense comprising both works *in*
computer science and works *on* computer science),
2. *Author expertise:* we expect authors to contribute in
accordance with their domains of expertise, in a broad sense;
for instance a contribution on ethical issues by a computer
scientist can be rooted in their research practice, a
contribution by a social scientist can be rooted in the study
of an example or through field work; a contribution by a
philosopher or historian of science can be rooted in the study
of computer science as a specific domain of production of
knowledge and scientific practice.
3. *Undone science:* we expect that the question of undone
science will inspire presentations that lead to meaningful
reflections touching upon ethical or epistemological aspects
of computer science in a broad sense, without requiring
expertise in epistemology and ethics. For instance, a
submission from a computer scientist could outline a potential
ethical question, rooted in their research practice, even if its 
consequences in ethics cannot be fully elaborated at this
point. (In doubt, feel free to inquire with the organisers
about a potential topic.)

* As a general goal, the programme will leave ample time for
individual presentations and for discussions. To this end, the
program committee can decide to allot presentation slots of
varying durations according to the extent of individual
submissions and to the authors' expressed preference.
* We will endeavour to always give considerate and constructive
feedback about proposed abstracts.
* Accepted abstracts will be made available online in the programme
of the conference.
* PC and general chairs are not allowed to submit. Members of the PC
are allowed to submit talk proposals in double-blind reviewing.
* For all submissions, usual strict rules regarding conflicts of
interest apply (see the COPE guidelines <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://doi.org/10.24318/ElTeSLhp__;!!IBzWLUs!V0ebMHhQd7_-3jipgDX5e1tf58zX3yllJQoZ0L5OAz4SzYzwntn4hJnlpsdpnRFsgfVIZOFvUwW9h1G9yzbm7O9bIsZPIm7Vayo54jYZteg$ >
or the ACM policy on conflicts of interest
<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.acm.org/publications/policies/conflict-of-interest__;!!IBzWLUs!V0ebMHhQd7_-3jipgDX5e1tf58zX3yllJQoZ0L5OAz4SzYzwntn4hJnlpsdpnRFsgfVIZOFvUwW9h1G9yzbm7O9bIsZPIm7Vayo5Z2342LM$ >).

Please contact the chairs below regarding any question.


REGISTRATION & ATTENDING

* Inscription fees: we aim for low fees of around 100€.
* The venue has good accessibility and we strive to make our
conference accessible; more information will be provided on the
website of the conference. Feel free to inquire with the
organisers.
* A limited number of travel grants might be offered for speakers
who require it. Feel free to inquire in advance with the
organisers.
* The talks will be streamed online.

Please visit the website <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.undonecs.org/2026/__;!!IBzWLUs!V0ebMHhQd7_-3jipgDX5e1tf58zX3yllJQoZ0L5OAz4SzYzwntn4hJnlpsdpnRFsgfVIZOFvUwW9h1G9yzbm7O9bIsZPIm7Vayo50Z5ae8I$ > or contact
us below if you need more information.


PROGRAMME COMMITTEE

Mohamed Abdalla (University of Alberta)
Gabriel Alcaras (Médialab, Paris)
Antoine Amarilli (INRIA, Lille)
Yackolley Amoussou-Guenou (Univ. Paris 2 Panthéon-Assas)
Marc Anderson (Independent researcher, Ottawa)
Ambre Ayats (Univ. Eastern Finland)
Enka Blanchard (CNRS, Paris) — principal chair
Aurélie Bugeau (LaBRI, Univ. Bordeaux)
Juan Carlos De Martin (Politecnico Di Torino)
Liesbeth De Mol (CNRS, Univ. Lille)
Pierre Depaz (HfG Karlsruhe)
Mélanie Dulong de Rosnay (Centre Internet et Société, CNRS, Paris) — chair
Chantal Enguehard (Univ. Nantes)
Elina Eriksson (KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm)
Ksenia Ermoshina (The Citizen Lab, U. Toronto & CNRS, Paris)
Ben Green (U. Michigan)
Felienne Hermans (VU Amsterdam)
Robin K. Hill (U. Wyoming)
Jun Kato (AIST, Japan)
Os Keyes (University of Massachusetts Lowell)
Laura Kocksch (Aalborg University)
Shriram Krishnamurthi (Brown University, USA)
Oded Lachish (University of London)
Giuseppe Longo (ENS Paris)
Fabrizio Li Vigni (Centre Internet et Société, CNRS, Paris)
Janos Makowsky (Emeritus, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa)
Florence Maraninchi (Ensimag, Grenoble)
Ola Michalec (Univ. Bristol)
Lionel Morel (INSA Lyon)
Francesca Musiani (Centre Internet et Société, CNRS, Paris)
Dawn Nafus (Intel, USA)
Alberto Naibo (Univ. Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne) Edlira Nano (Univ. Lyon 1)
Lê Thành Dũng (Tito) Nguyễn (CNRS, Univ. Aix-Marseille) — chair
Norberto Patrignani (Politecnico Di Torino) Tomas Petricek (Charles 
University, Prague)
Jörg Pohle (Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society, Berlin)
Mark Priestley (The National Museum of Computing, Bletchley Park)
Carina Prunkl (Utrecht University)
Sophie Quinton (INRIA, Grenoble) — chair
Pablo Rauzy (Univ. Paris 8)
Luc Rocher (Univ. Oxford)
Peter Roenne (Univ. Luxembourg)
Peter Y A Ryan (Univ. Luxembourg)
Valérie Schafer (Univ. Luxembourg)
Ari Schlesinger (Univ. Georgia)
Alan Sherman (UMBC, Maryland)
Katta Spiel (TU Wien, Austria)
Maté Szabó (Univ. Southern California)
Tiphaine Viard (Télécom Paris)
Salomé Viljoen (U. Michigan)
Tone Walford (University College London)


ORGANISERS

*PC Chairs*
Enka Blanchard (CNRS) — principal chair
Mélanie Dulong de Rosnay (CNRS)
Sophie Quinton (INRIA)
Lê Thành Dũng (Tito) Nguyễn (CNRS)

*General Chairs*
Enka Blanchard (CNRS)
Guillaume Munch-Maccagnoni (INRIA)

*Local Organisers*
Peter Roenne (Univ. Luxembourg) — local chair
Peter Ryan (Univ. Luxembourg)
Valérie Schafer (Univ. Luxembourg)

Contact us at <undonecs-2026 at sciencesconf.org>


BIBLIOGRAPHY

[1] D. J. Hess (2016). Undone Science: Social Movements, Mobilized
Publics, and Industrial Transitions. MIT Press. ISBN 9780262529495.

[2] Frickel, S., Gibbon, S., Howard, J., Kempner, J., Ottinger, G., &
Hess, D. J. (2010). Undone Science: Charting Social Movement and
Civil Society Challenges to Research Agenda Setting. Science,
Technology, & Human Values, 35(4), 444–473.
<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://doi.org/10.1177/0162243909345836__;!!IBzWLUs!V0ebMHhQd7_-3jipgDX5e1tf58zX3yllJQoZ0L5OAz4SzYzwntn4hJnlpsdpnRFsgfVIZOFvUwW9h1G9yzbm7O9bIsZPIm7Vayo5jl9MstI$ >

[3] According to Green, tech ethics increasingly tends to be “subsumed
into corporate logics and incentives”; according to Abdalla and
Abdalla, actions of “Big Tech” to influence academic and public
discourse are reminiscent of the tactics of Big Tobacco:
* B. Green (2021). The Contestation of Tech Ethics: A Sociotechnical
Approach to Technology Ethics in Practice, Journal of Social
Computing, 2 (3), pp. 209-225, September 2021.
<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://doi.org/10.23919/JSC.2021.0018__;!!IBzWLUs!V0ebMHhQd7_-3jipgDX5e1tf58zX3yllJQoZ0L5OAz4SzYzwntn4hJnlpsdpnRFsgfVIZOFvUwW9h1G9yzbm7O9bIsZPIm7Vayo52BIVf1k$ >
* M. Abdalla & M. Abdalla (2021). The Grey Hoodie Project: Big
Tobacco, Big Tech, and the Threat on Academic Integrity. In
Proceedings of the 2021 AAAI/ACM Conference on AI, Ethics, and
Society (AIES ’21). Association for Computing Machinery, New York,
NY, USA, 287–297.
<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://doi.org/10.1145/3461702.3462563__;!!IBzWLUs!V0ebMHhQd7_-3jipgDX5e1tf58zX3yllJQoZ0L5OAz4SzYzwntn4hJnlpsdpnRFsgfVIZOFvUwW9h1G9yzbm7O9bIsZPIm7Vayo5VlM-MFM$ >

[4] C.E.A. Prunkl, C. Ashurst, M. Anderljung et al. Institutionalizing
ethics in AI through broader impact requirements. Nature Machine
Intelligence, 3, 104–110 (2021).
<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://doi.org/10.1038/s42256-021-00298-y__;!!IBzWLUs!V0ebMHhQd7_-3jipgDX5e1tf58zX3yllJQoZ0L5OAz4SzYzwntn4hJnlpsdpnRFsgfVIZOFvUwW9h1G9yzbm7O9bIsZPIm7Vayo5xjPxXzE$ >

[5] Sara Hooker. 2021. The hardware lottery. Communications of the ACM,
64, 12 (December 2021), 58–65.
<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3467017__;!!IBzWLUs!V0ebMHhQd7_-3jipgDX5e1tf58zX3yllJQoZ0L5OAz4SzYzwntn4hJnlpsdpnRFsgfVIZOFvUwW9h1G9yzbm7O9bIsZPIm7Vayo5VP86puI$ >

[6] Dawn Nafus. 2018. Exploration or Algorithm? The Undone Science
Before the Algorithms. Cultural Anthropology, 33 (3) : 368–374.
<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://journal.culanth.org/index.php/ca/article/view/ca33.3.03__;!!IBzWLUs!V0ebMHhQd7_-3jipgDX5e1tf58zX3yllJQoZ0L5OAz4SzYzwntn4hJnlpsdpnRFsgfVIZOFvUwW9h1G9yzbm7O9bIsZPIm7Vayo543OCw1k$ >

[7] Unesco. 2003. Recommendation concerning the Promotion and Use of
Multilingualism and Universal Access to Cyberspace.
<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.unesco.org/legal-affairs/recommendation-concerning-promotion-and-use-multilingualism-and-universal-access-cyberspace__;!!IBzWLUs!V0ebMHhQd7_-3jipgDX5e1tf58zX3yllJQoZ0L5OAz4SzYzwntn4hJnlpsdpnRFsgfVIZOFvUwW9h1G9yzbm7O9bIsZPIm7Vayo5Qw7M_ks$ >