Call for Submissions:

International Conference on Impact of Innovative, Disruptive and Emerging Technologies on Audiences and Society (IDEAS 2026)
August 3-4, 2026
Manchester, UK
https://ideas-conference.org/

Deadline for submissions: May 31, 2026

New and disruptive technologies are rapidly transforming how people live, work, and connect, how organisations operate and perform, and how communities, societies and their interactions are managed and governed. For individuals, such technologies offer unprecedented access to information, new forms of communications, greater convenience in everyday life and new career opportunities, just to name some, but also raise concerns such as privacy, digital fatigue and job displacement. Organizations benefit from increased efficiency and opportunities for innovation but face pressure to adapt rapidly, retrain and reskill employees, and address more complicated ethical responsibilities. At a societal level, these technologies stimulate economic growth and enable inclusion, yet inappropriate deployments also risk deepening inequalities and widening social divides if access remains unequal. From a governance perspective, rapid technological changes challenge existing legal and regulatory frameworks. Policymakers need to balance innovation with public safety, privacy rights, and ethical standards. Issues such as surveillance, misinformation, and AI bias demand transparent, inclusive governance. Furthermore, the integration of technology shapes cultural norms, public discourse, and power dynamics. Ultimately, managing the impact of these innovative, disruptive and emerging technologies requires collaboration across sectors to ensure equitable and sustainable progress.

The conference provides a platform and interactive forum for social science researchers, technologists, innovators, strategists and policymakers to explore how to maximize benefits while minimising harm and risks in the adoption and deployment of the technologies. To achieve this optimal goal, proactive measures are essential. These include but are not restricted to investing in digital literacy and education to prepare individuals for evolving job markets, establishing ethical AI and data standards, and enforcing strong privacy regulations. Encouraging innovation with responsibility, fostering equitable access, and engaging diverse voices in technology development can ensure these tools serve humanity fairly and sustainably. These are likely to be some of the topics of interest of the conference.

The conference is organised by AT Publishing in association its journals Recent Advances in Humanities Arts and Social Sciences (HASS) [ISSN: 2978-1345] and Research in Education Curriculum and Pedagogy: Global Perspectives (RECAP) [ISSN: 2977-1633]. There is a “conference first” policy in place. Selected papers will be invited to further develop into full journal articles for a special issue of HASS or RECAP, the two associated AT-journals free of APCs.

For authors wishing to publish in more specific journals, relevant research presented at the conference will also be invited for submissions to Journal of Chinese Economic and Business Studies (ESCI Q1, impact factor 3.7) and Sustainability (SSCI Q1, impact factor 3.3) subject to their standard review process. Conference proceedings, including all accepted contributions, will be published open access with an ISBN bearing a DOI and made available and searchable for the general public.

SCOPE AND TOPICS

The conference welcomes contributions centred around its theme(s) from humanities, arts, and social sciences perspectives. Interdisciplinary and frontier research is especially encouraged. Scientists, engineers and technologists are invited to contribute their view of social impact of the technologies they develop. Pure research and development of new and disruptive technologies do not fit the remit of the conference. Submissions addressing (1) the impact of emerging and disruptive technologies on people, organisations and society, (2) opportunities, challenges and risks & unintended consequences in technology development and adoption and (3) strategies and guidelines for optimal adoptions and deployment of technologies, are particularly timely and align with the conference’s core themes.

To acknowledge and respect the breadth of the nature of this conference and avoid restricting its scope. There are no preset strands at the call for paper stage. The conference technical committee reserves the rights and will decide the strand titles based on the accepted submissions at a later stage before announcing the conference programme.

The topics from different perspectives listed below serve as hints to provide inspiration rather than restrictions. Any topic of academic, practical, vocational and societal interests and within the remit of the conference is welcome.

By type of technologies:

• AI, robotics & autonomous systems
• Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), human augmentation & extended reality
• Biotech & health Innovation
• Quantum & next-Gen computing
• Energy & environmental tech
• Next-gen connectivity & web infrastructure
• Advanced materials, space & manufacturing

By Levels of impact and measures:

• People responses and experience
• Education and reskilling
• Organisation adoption, deployment and responsibilities
• Broad sense social impact
• Privacy, safety, security and ethics
• Legislation regulation and Governance

By types of Impact (positive/negative)
Promotive or preventive management measures for:

• Efficiency and productive force
• Well being, resilience and social good
• Quality of life
• Sustainability
• Cybersecurity threats & data Breaches
• Economic and social Disruption
• Ethical dilemmas and bias
• Regulatory lag

SUBMISSION

Submission formats:

1. Abstract (200-500 words): an abstract should outline the key contents of the presentation
2. Extended Abstract (500-1200 words): allowing for more details including references if the authors think necessary.
3. Full paper (1800-2500 words): the full paper should be unpublished original work with 200-word abstract and full reference list.
4. Panel discussion proposal (max. 750 words): the proposal should contain the title of the discussion and the name of the convenor. It should include information for the organiser to assess the appropriateness and relevance to the conference and the list of panel members.
5. Workshop proposal: the proposal should contain the title of the workshop and the name of the convenor, who acts as the chair and is responsible for organising the papers. A minimum of 3 papers is required for each workshop.

Please select the appropriate template for your submission

Submission deadline: 31 May 2026
Acceptance notification: 15 June 2026

Each format has a designated template, use the right template and upload the file for your submission. You need to register on the submission site first. Further details and instructions are given in the Authors Guidelines.

If you experience any problems please email us.

REGISTRATION

The registration form will be uploaded shortly. Please download, complete and return the form by email to complete registration.

Registration Fees:

Author (student): £240
Author (regular): £300
Listener: £120
Extra paper: £100

REFUND & CANCELLATION POLICY

Once payment is made, notification of cancellation of registration must be received by email.

Full refund can be made with written notification 2 months before the conference start date or due to the failure to secure the visa minus an administrative charge of £60.

50% refund with written notification 1 month before the conference start date.

No refund can be made if the notification is less than 1 month.

All programmes are subject to change and no refunds will be given for changes.

Disclaimer: In the unlikely event that All Terrain Publishing deems it necessary to cancel the conference or the training, all pre-paid registration fees will be reimbursed. AT Publishing shall not be liable for reimbursing the cost of travel or accommodation arrangements made by individual delegates.

CHAIRS AND COMMITTEE

General Chairs:
Professor Peng Zhou, Professor of Economics, Cardiff Business School, Cardiff University

Publication Chair:
Karen Wang, Senior Editor, AT Publishing

Conference Secretariat:
All Terrain Publishing Team

Conference Technical/Scholarly Committee (rolling addition):
Dr Francis Li, University of Salford, UK
Dr Simone Corsi, Lancaster University, UK