The speed, growth, and increasing entanglement of computational systems is actively changing our work, social, political, and creative lives. Yet the apparent success of these systems in reshaping social and economic landscapes has also come with enormous costs—putting fair and stable employment, the veracity of information, respectful use of data, and democratic participation at risk. Perhaps the ways we create and study these systems, and the normative assumptions and values that are embedded within them, need to be reconsidered in a new light?
This critique has been present at PPIG for a while, from End User Programming, Live Coding, to even the idea of studying the psychology of programmers. We’ve always been a community that invites other perspectives on what it means to program, and we want to continue to extend this interest.
This year’s theme prompts us to reflect upon what we’re missing—the practices, theories, people, and technologies that have been excluded, set aside, or overlooked by mainstream programming research. What are the edges and limits of programming and programmed systems? Who has agency to participate in their creation and study, and who is relegated to the passive role of user or research subject?
What new or overlooked possibilities are growing at the margins of programming, away from the prevailing industrial and technoscientific values of speed, efficiency, measurability, and scale? What would an ecology of programming look like, in which we have a responsibility to cultivate communities, invite diverse perspectives, and grow a plurality of approaches and epistemologies?
The Psychology of Programming Interest Group (PPIG) was established in 1987 in order to bring together people from diverse communities to explore common interests in the psychological aspects of programming and in the computational aspects of psychology. “Programming”, here, is interpreted in the broadest sense to include any aspect of software creation.
As always with PPIG, we accept the widest range of submissions on a variety of topics, such as:
We welcome the following categories of submissions:
Please use our templates for papers. Submissions for the workshop should be uploaded to EasyChair.
We look forward to seeing you in Toronto!
Colin Clark, Mariana Marasoiu, and Luke Church
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