[Commlist] CfP Automating Communication

the Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society (HIIG) and 
the Weizenbaum-Institute for the Networked Society are jointly hosting 
an International Conference:

Automating Communication in the Networked Society​: Contexts, 
Consequences, Critique
November 6-8, 2019 in Berlin
Keynote by Shoshana Zuboff

This is the annual conference of the German Communication Association’s 
Division “Digital Communication”. The theme speaks to a broad set of 
issues, including the dynamics of innovation, actors and strategies, 
digital methods and their critical reflection, and theoretical 
contributions. Please find the Call for Papers below and at the 
conference website: https://www.digikomm2019.de

Deadline for abstracts submission is July 15, 2019. Don’t hesitate to 
contact me if you have questions.
Best, Christian Katzenbach

Senior Researcher, Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and 
Society, Berlin
http://www.hiig.de/staff/christian-katzenbach/



######

AUTOMATING COMMUNICATION IN THE NETWORKED SOCIETY​: CONTEXTS, 
CONSEQUENCES, CRITIQUE

November 6-8, 2019 in Berlin
Keynote by Shoshana Zuboff

A defining—yet understudied—feature of digital communication is 
automation: the
production of content, the distribution of information and messages, the 
curation of media
use and the governance of content are all increasingly shaped and 
influenced by
automated processes and automated actors.


Algorithms automate the production of content, algorithms operate the 
selection and
filtering of information in news, news feeds and search engines, they 
attribute relevance
and popularity, perform content moderation and fact-checking. Automated 
actors such as
social bots participate both in organizational communication such as 
customer service
and, as a potential force of manipulation, in election campaigns. While 
communication
scholars have focused their attention on algorithms in diverse areas of 
the field, they can
be studied as a means of the broader process of automating social 
relations and public
communication.


Because automation takes place in hybrid media systems, automation is 
not restrained to
social media platforms or apps, but also plays a role in journalism and 
legacy media, as
well as in interpersonal communication. Algorithms write simple news 
articles, rank mostread articles, and shape what journalists find 
relevant or newsworthy. Networked
societies rely on permanent connectedness, all of which takes place in 
strongly automated,
curated environments of data gathering, sharing, liking, commenting: 
monitoring complex
actor-networks, self mass-communication, or organizing protest through 
connective
action.


The story of automating communication has two sides: the few who are 
shaping, designing,
programming and implementing algorithms and other technologies, and the 
many who are
using and are impacted by automated communication. In this regard, 
automation raises
questions of power and power relations. Automating core features of 
democracy such as
the assignment of relevance and legitimacy to issues, actors, and 
specific content, based on
data and algorithms controlled and operated by a few private companies, 
challenges
notions of transparency, due process, and legitimacy. What are the 
regulatory measures to
curb this power? And are automation, algorithms, and artificial 
intelligence really
meaningful answers to social problems?

Submissions may cover one or several of the following aspects:


1. Theoretical innovations
The process and consequences of automating communication challenge 
theoretical
concepts. Are bots actors? Are algorithms institutions? Are software 
developers
communicators? Does automated communication cause dissonance and 
disrupted public
spheres, and how? Are concepts around consonance and deliberation really 
“out of touch
with reality” (Pfetsch & Bennett 2018)? How does automated communication 
affect media
use and media effects? How can we theoretically model automated 
communication?


2. Dynamics of communication
Algorithms are at the core of automation, because automation works 
through algorithms.
But how do they change and challenge the dynamics, the processes, and 
structuration of
communication? How do search engines impact on public communication and 
information
retrieval? How does the curation of news feeds work and how do they 
affect how media
users receive information? What causes and influences the viral 
distribution of content?
How do hate speech and “fake news” travel in networks of social media 
platforms and
legacy media? Do algorithms cause filter bubbles and echo chambers? What 
is the impact
of the increasing automatic detection of content deemed illegitimate 
(e.g., hate speech,
copyright violation, nudity) in social media and comment section? What 
is the role of
datafication for automated and automating communication?


3. Actors and strategies, accountability and governance
Automating communication affects and involves a variety of actors: when 
algorithms
produce content, this changes the effort and role of journalists. How do 
media actors work
with algorithmic content production? Are journalists “gaming” the 
algorithms of platforms,
and how? Who creates the tools and affordances that automate 
communication—and
under which conditions? What happens when low-wage employees execute highly
automated tasks, partly in order to mimic algorithms and artificial 
intelligence
(“fauxtomation”)? New and (semi-)automated actors such as trolls, 
connected activist, and
social bots alter the strategies of campaigning and the way parties and 
other organizations
plan their activities. Who can be held accountable for automated 
communication? What
are challenges and possible solutions for regulation and media policy?


4. Methods and critical reflection of methods
Studying automated communication often involves computational methods 
and trace data.
But qualitative methods such as ethnography, interviews or observations 
can also help to
understand how algorithms are created, platforms are shaped, and actors 
use or make
sense of automated communication. Particularly research focusing on 
social media
platforms faces severe challenges of data access and data management 
nowadays, dealing
with data protection regulation, privacy issues, and proprietary data. 
Analyses of
automated actors, such as bots, rely on black-boxed tools and call for 
interdisciplinary
approaches. We thus also invite submissions with a critical perspective 
on research
methods, revisiting research ethics and quality standards.


5. Open call
In addition to topic-specific submissions, there is an open call for 
current research on
digital communication. We also welcome submissions that are not directly 
related to the
conference theme but address pertinent issues of the research field. 
This must be noted in
the submission.

Submissions
Extended abstracts (4,000 to 5,000 characters, exclusive bibliography 
and any appendices)
can be submitted by 16 June 2019 in electronic form (*.docx, *.rtf or 
*.odt; not *.pdf) as email
attachments to (submissions /at/ digikomm2019.de) The abstracts must be made
anonymous by means of a separate cover page and the removal of all 
identifying
information from the text and document settings.


All submissions will be evaluated in a peer review according to the 
following criteria
customary in the German Communication Association: theoretical 
foundation, relevance of
research questions, method/procedure, novelty/originality, clarity and 
conciseness of
presentation. The results of the review process will be announced by 
mid-August 2019.


Organization
The conference will take place from November 6-8, 2019 in Berlin. The 
event is hosted by
the Weizenbaum Institute for the Networked Society (FU Berlin) and the 
Alexander von
Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society. More information will be 
added on the
website, such as location, program, and social events: www.digikomm2019.de


Hosts and contact
German Communication Association, Digital Communication Division
Christian Katzenbach, (katzenbach /at/ hiig.de)
Christian Pentzold, (christian.pentzold /at/ uni-bremen.de)


Weizenbaum Institute for the Networked Society/FU Berlin and Alexander 
von Humboldt
Institute for Internet and Society
Ulrike Klinger, (ulrike.klinger /at/ fu-berlin.de)
Christian Katzenbach, (katzenbach /at/ hiig.de)


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