ISTAS25 Call for Papers

The IEEE International Symposium on Technology and Society (ISTAS) is the flagship conference of the IEEE’s Society on Social Implications of Technology (SSIT). ISTAS is a multi/inter/trans‐disciplinary forum for engineers, policymakers, entrepreneurs, philosophers, researchers, social scientists, technologists, and polymaths to collaborate, exchange experiences, and discuss the social implications of technology. Hosted by the Santa Clara University (California, USA), ISTAS25 will be a live hybrid conference with live stream events as appropriate.

The ISTAS 2025 theme is “AI Evolution and Revolution” and it is focused on the upheaval AI is causing in the world. SSIT invites participation from practitioners in academia, industry, and government who contemplate the future societal impact of AI as it evolves: how should we guide and manage this revolution to ensure we leverage benefits and minimize risks?

We also invite individuals involved in technology policy who would like to better understand the social implications that will arise with the use of AI. The conference seeks to foster multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and trans-disciplinary interactions about legal, security, and economic issues of AI.

Submission Deadlines

• May 16, 2025 – Special Session Proposals Due
• May 16, 2025 – Papers and Abstracts Due
• June 15, 2025 – Acceptance and Rejection Notices
• July 11, 2025 – Camera-Ready Submissions Due

ISTAS25 Thematic Areas of Interest

See below the thematic areas of interest that ISTAS25 will cover. For additional inspiration, check the AI Resource Hub with insightful articles and points of view on these topics.

Submission Guidelines

The ISTAS25 Conference Committee welcomes proposals for pre-organized sessions and invites submissions of original work not previously or simultaneously submitted to another journal or conference. Several paper and presentation formats are available; authors will be prompted to identify an appropriate category and relevant conference subtheme(s) for their work during the submission process. Please read the descriptions below, and when you are ready, go to: EasyChair portal for submissions.

ISTAS25 EasyChair Submission Portal

Special Sessions, Workshop, and Tutorial Proposals: 

To propose one of these sessions, submit a PDF of no more than 2 pages that outlines a clear topic, set of objectives, and format (anticipated duration should be [to be confirmed with Conference Chair]), and explains how the session aligns with the conference theme and/or subtheme(s). Provide a list of proposed presenters/facilitators, or explain your intended plan for securing presenters. Please use the EasyChair portal for submissions.

• Special Sessions address broad topics of relevance to the conference; they typically involve a combination of presentations (which can take a variety of formats, such as traditional full-papers, shorter-form position statements and responses, round-table discussions, etc.) and audience dialogue (e.g. a Q&A session); organizers are responsible for confirming at least three unique presenters by the submission deadline (May 2, 2025), and all must register for the conference; special session presenters are invited to submit papers for peer-review and publication as part of the ISTAS25 Proceedings.
• Workshops are interactive sessions that focus on a narrowly defined topic; they typically involve a combination of presentations, dialogue between facilitators and participants, and activities that allow attendees to try out or implement new ideas.
• Tutorials are didactic sessions that deliver a focused lesson on a topic relevant to the conference theme; a facilitator/teacher typically presents material to an audience of students who are interested in the topic but not yet subject-matter experts.

Full-length papers: 

These contributions are between 6-8 pages and will receive full peer-review for consideration as part of the ISTAS25 Proceedings (published on IEEEXplore). Full-length papers are expected to present original, cutting-edge research, they should contain detailed and explicit methodology and comprehensive literature review, and they must clearly explain the work’s novelty and contribution to its respective field. Full-length papers must be submitted through the EasyChair portal as PDFs, following the IEEE conference template.

Short Papers: 

These contributions are between 2-4 pages, excluding references. Short papers may present preliminary findings from work in progress, industry/practitioner/artist perspectives on issues relevant to the conference theme, or student research projects. They should present and discuss a clear and focused central idea, incorporate discussion of relevant research/contexts, and provide references as necessary. Short papers must be submitted through the EasyChair portal as PDFs, following the IEEE conference template

Student Poster Abstracts:

These contributions should be no longer than one page and will receive desk review from the student session committee. And while they will be included in the conference program and website, these submissions have a later deadline and are not intended for inclusion in the final proceedings. Abstracts for participation in the student session should be submitted through the EasyChair portal as PDFs.

If you have questions about the suitability of your work for various conference themes and/or paper formats, or about the ISTAS25 submission guidelines and EasyChair procedures, please contact istas25@easychair.org.

Style & Formatting Instructions

All submissions must be uploaded to the ISTAS25 EasyChair portal in PDF format based on the IEEE conference template.

If this is your first time publishing with IEEE, you might appreciate visiting the IEEE Author Center. Additional author/presenter tips are available here.

Paper Evaluation and Publication

All ISTAS25 submissions will be evaluated according to:

• Relevance (consider Social Implications, address Conference Themes)
• Validity (well-argued, evidence-based, grounded in theory)
• Significance/Originality
• Methodological Basis and Rigor
• Balance, Structure, and Clarity

The IEEE ISTAS25 proceedings will be published through the IEEEXplore database. Papers will be included in the proceedings only if at least one author registers for ISTAS25 and pays the conference registration fee.

Select papers may subsequently be invited for expansion/revision, and further peer review, for inclusion in a special issue of the IEEE Technology and Society Magazine for publication in 2025-6. The invited papers should be 70% different in terms of the content and findings from the papers that have been submitted to the conference.