As many of you have probably anticipated, due to concerns regarding the novel coronavirus COVID-19, the 2020 ACM Conference on Economics and Computation (EC 2020) will be held virtually.
This change of format will of course present us with difficult challenges, but we believe it will offer exciting new opportunities as well. (And not to worry, your opportunity to attend EC in Budapest is just deferred to 2021.)
The SIGecom Executive Committee has appointed and will serve on a Virtual Transition Team that additionally includes the following new conference officers:
- Virtual General Chair: Jason Hartline
- Virtual Local Chair: Yannai Gonczarowski
- Virtual Global Outreach Chairs: Rediet Abebe and Eric Sodomka
This team is working with the EC 2020 organizing committee and EC 2020 PC chairs to put together a plan that leverages the opportunities of the virtual format to the fullest extent. Though these plans are still in the works, we have identified the following “minimal commitment” for authors of accepted papers to the main EC conference: at least one author will need to
- register for the conference;
- be available virtually on the conference dates (July 14-16);
- provide a camera-ready paper or abstract by the camera-ready deadline;
- provide a pre-recorded talk presenting the paper two weeks in advance (by June 28).
We are optimistic that, while a virtual EC may lack some of the positive features of a classical conference, the format will also provide opportunities that improve on the classical experience. As with any conference there will be opportunities to participate beyond the “minimal commitment.” We hope that speakers and participants will join in other activities, which may include preview sessions for talks before the conference proper, watch parties for speakers and attendees, and mechanisms for reaching a wider audience with the technical program. With many academic interactions moving virtual, the barriers to collaboration with distant colleagues have lowered, and we hope that EC 2020 will kindle and rekindle global collaborations.
Further details about these activities as well as the minimal requirements will be circulated by June 1.
Tutorial speakers and workshop organizers will receive separate emails from the Tutorial and Workshop Chairs about plans for moving these events online.
Turing's Invisible Hand 
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