We are delighted to share our two guest speakers for the upcoming Hype Studies Conference, Gemma Milne and Christo Buschek!

We couldn't have dreamt of a better way to launch our event than a keynote from the author of "Smoke and Mirrors", a book investigating how hype obscures the futures of science and technology. Gemma is a Glasgow-based writer and researcher focused on political economy of science and technology. At Glasgow University, she is working as Interdisciplinary Research Fellow in Digital Society and Economy, while completing her PhD at Edinburgh University focused on corporate futurism. Gemma writes for outlets such as The Guardian, WIRED, Forbes, the BBC and others. She is also a co-host of the Radical Science podcast and the editor of The New Real Editions - a magazine focused on the intersection of AI and art.

Christo Buschek has kindly offered to speak on the keynote panel (keep your eyes peeled for the abstract announcement!). Christo an Austrian information security expert and investigative journalist covering tech, human rights and disinformation. Together with colleagues Megha Rajagopalan and Alison Killing, Buschek was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting in 2021 for their investigative report "Built to Last" on BuzzFeed News, which uncovered the previously unknown Uyghur camps in China.

While you're penciling our conference in your diaries (register here), we would like to share that we have been positively overwhelmed with the quantity, quality and the diversity of your submissions. We have received 102 (!) submissions, ranging from traditional academic presentations, artistic images and videos, hands-on tutorials to playful interventions. We read your provocations on hype in quantum, nuclear energy, popular music, online safety, sustainable AI, among numerous other topics! We are currently considering all the submissions, expecting to confirm and release the full programme by the end of June.