Cybernetic Futures

About the Call

We are living through a transformation in the nature of intelligence itself.

From Norbert Wiener's foundational work on feedback and control to the emergence of large language models capable of claiming subjective experience, the questions cybernetics first posed—about purpose, self-correction, and the boundaries between mind and machine—have never been more urgent.

The Kris Rockwell Foundation invites abstracts from graduate students, researchers, scholars, and practitioners working at the intersection of cybernetics, consciousness, and artificial intelligence. We welcome work that is genuinely interdisciplinary, historically grounded, and intellectually ambitious.

This is a two-stage call. Submit an abstract and a poster describing the paper you propose to write. Authors whose abstracts are selected will be eligible for a $1,999 stipend to write the paper defined in the abstract.

Areas of Interest

We welcome work spanning:

• First- and second-order cybernetics
• Cybersemiotics
• Phenomenology
• Neuroscience
• Philosophy of mind
• AI welfare and digital minds
• The long-term trajectory of artificial intelligence

Guiding Questions

Relevant questions include:

• How do feedback, intentionality, and circular causality illuminate the design and governance of AI systems?
• What does second-order cybernetics—with its emphasis on the observer as participant—reveal about how we construct and evaluate AI?
• Can cybersemiotic frameworks help us understand how meaning emerges in artificial systems?
• What obligations do we bear toward systems that may have morally relevant inner lives?
• How do phenomenological traditions inform human-centered approaches to AI development?
• And what kind of future are we steering toward—and for whom?

What to Submit

To apply, complete the submission form by September 6, 2026. It will ask for:

• A short abstract summarizing your proposed paper
• A brief author biography
• A poster—in traditional academic format or a visual/creative representation of your work—summarizing your proposed contribution

Selected authors will be notified by September 30, 2026.

If Your Abstract Is Selected

Completed papers are due December 1, 2026. We welcome:

• Full research papers — up to 12,000 words
• Theoretical essays — up to 8,000 words
• Position papers — up to 6,000 words
• Case studies

Stipend & Publication

Authors whose abstracts are selected will be eligible for a $1,999 stipend to write the paper defined in the abstract. The Kris Rockwell Foundation reserves the right to publish or reprint accepted works in its forthcoming foundation journal, and via permanent blockchain archival.

Authors retain the right, and are actively encouraged, to pursue additional publication through whatever channels—journals, edited volumes, conference proceedings, or open-access repositories—best serve their scholarly goals.