Spatial computing, extended reality (XR), and AI-powered wearables are transforming how we perceive the world. Streets, schools, courthouses, and public spaces are increasingly becoming “phygital”: physically shared but digitally individualised – annotated, filtered, and algorithmically overlaid in real time. Perception itself becomes a site of intervention. The traditional boundaries between online and offline, public and private, infrastructure and interface are dissolving.
The workshop asks: Who governs phygital spaces when digital layers are controlled by private platforms, but physical space is subject to public law? How can privacy, dignity, and democratic accountability be protected when perception becomes a resource – for data collection, algorithmic nudging, or sexualized digital violence?
The event is organized by humanet3 – a joint initiative of the Max Planck Institute for Human Development, the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition, and the Max Planck Institute for Foreign Public Law and International Law – in cooperation with Tehilla Shwartz Altshuler and Romi Mikulinsky. The Max Planck Law Network is supporting the promotion of the event.
We invite contributions from researchers in law, political science, sociology, philosophy, and related disciplines who are exploring the “Editable World” concept as a new object of governance – ranging from the regulation of phygital spaces to questions of democratic public sphere and the political economy of digital perception infrastructures.
We welcome position papers, conceptual contributions, and early-stage theses. The workshop is intended as a space for exploration, interdisciplinary exchange, and the joint development of an agenda.
Key Facts at a Glance:
- Date: 5 – 6 November 2026
- Venue: Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition, Herzog-Max-Str. 4, 80333 Munich, Germany
- Deadline for Abstracts: 15 July 2026
- Contact:editable-worlds(at)mpil.de
- Notification of Acceptance: 15 August 2026
- Deadline for Contributions: 4 October 2026 (1,500 to 2,500 words)
In exceptional cases, funding for travel and/or accommodation may be considered upon request.