UbiSoc 2005: First International Workshop on Social Implications of 
Ubiquitous Computing 


Vlad Coroama Institute for Pervasive Computing, ETH Zurich 

Carsten Magerkurth Fraunhofer Institute IPSI 

Vassilis Kostakos University of Bath 

Irene Lopez de Vallejo UCL - The Barlett 


Over the last few years, ubiquitous computing has shifted more and more out 
of laboratories and into everyday applications, such as toll ways or 
navigation systems. Consequently, ubiquitous computing has also entered the 
conscience of an ever increasing part of the general public, as the latest 
discussions about consumer privacy with respect to the commercial use of 
tracking technologies have shown. The public discourse often lacks an exact 
understanding of the technologies involved and sometimes tends to overestimate 
the short-term risks involved in the deployment of pervasive and ubiquitous 
computing systems. However, the fears involved herein are easily 
understandable if we take a precise look at the vision behind ubiquitous 
computing. With its orientation towards the public as well as the private, the 
personal as well as the commercial, it aspires to create technology that will 
accompany us throughout our whole lives, day in and day out. This ongoing 
development may have a long-term impact on everyday life, with far-reaching 
consequences for the society's ethical values. 

In recent years, the community has made quite some effort to initiate 
dialogue regarding the potential privacy threats posed by ubiquitous computing 
systems. There remain, however several other important social issues other 
than privacy that are impacted by ubiquitous computing. As researchers begin 
to identify and address these critical issues, we believe it is important to 
open a community dialogue to share these findings, create awareness regarding 
new research in these areas, and collaborate to work towards these new 
challenges.