[Commlist] Call for Papers - Pre Conf: Mapping AI Actor Constellations in New Media and Journalism

Call for Papers:

Mapping AI Actor Constellations in New Media and Journalism
Critical Perspectives on Power (Im-)balances, Limited Autonomy, and 
Reconfigured Practices.

Pre-conference to the 10th European Communication Conference
With the endorsement of the ECREA Journalism Studies Section
September 24, 2024 - University of Ljubljana

Conference Topic
AI, algorithms, and automation are increasingly becoming part of 
newsrooms, influencing nearly every aspect of journalism (Cools, 2022; 
Zamith, 2020). Both the pervasiveness (Thurman, Lewis & Kunert, 2019) of 
these innovative tools and their disruptive potential in restructuring 
news work and professional roles become central elements worth studying 
(Lewis et al., 2019). Even more so as the pervasiveness of automation 
entails new relational dynamics in the newsroom (Wu, Tandoc & Salmon, 
2019), but also with the audience (van Dalen, 2012), and other 
intermediaries and tech companies. This process leads to creating a new 
hybrid scenario (Porlezza & Di Salvo, 2020), where the boundaries of 
journalism are increasingly contested, and new skills and competencies 
are required. In this context, journalists are forced to renegotiate 
their communicative space as news work is confronted with shifting 
human-machine relationships that could result in ‘shared 
decision-making’ between the ‘human’ and ‘the machine’. Similarly, AI, 
algorithms, and automation also lead to new actor categories and 
professional roles such as programmers, designers, legal, and 
cybersecurity experts, both internal and external to media 
organizations. These changes entail both opportunities and challenges 
regarding journalistic relevance and authority (Amigo et al., 2023; 
Carlson, 2015; Wu et al., 2019), the internal organization of newsrooms 
(Thurman, Dörr & Kunert, 2017), and ethical (Porlezza & Ferri, 2021) as 
well as governance issues (Porlezza, 2023).

The pre-conference aims to explore new AI actor constellations in the 
journalism field to identify central players and map new interrelations, 
power imbalances, new dependencies, potential instances of boundary 
crossing, or even dissolving boundaries in the wider journalistic field. 
Overall, the pre-conference aims at overcoming newsroom-centered 
perspectives on the design and use of AI in journalism by focusing on 
emerging actors such as tech companies as well as intermediaries, who 
exert an increasing social and economic influence on journalism and the 
news industry (Simon, 2022). The pervasiveness of AI in the whole news 
cycle and the restricted capacity to develop AI systems on their own is 
likely to increase the news media’s dependence on tech and platform 
companies, challenging not only journalism’s autonomy, but also the news 
making process itself in terms of shifting practices, roles, and an 
ethical as well as responsible design and adoption of these systems. 
Such an approach aims at challenging predefined conceptions about the 
impact of AI in the news while expanding our understanding of how the 
technology reshapes actor-related questions about autonomy, dependence, 
and governance:

Submissions may focus on - but are by no means limited to - the 
following themes and perspectives:
● What kind of actor constellations (within and outside the news 
organization) deal with AI systems and their development and/or 
implementation?
● Which actors are involved, what kind of roles do they have, and how 
are they contributing to the development/implementation processes 
regarding AI systems?
● What kind of AI literacy skills and competencies are required to 
navigate a datafied media environment?
● What kind of practices, skills, and knowledge are involved?
● How are ethical issues dealt with in such an AI actor constellation?
● What kind of governance structures are needed to avoid power imbalances?

Different types of submissions are possible. You can submit a 
traditional research talk on one of the pre-conference topics, but you 
can also submit “work-in-progress” contributions on research projects 
that are still in progress. For those, the conference provides an 
opportunity to discuss questions about their theoretical and 
methodological approach, research design, data collection as well as 
other matters of interest. The pre-conference would like to bring 
together researchers from different backgrounds. Experts from outside 
academia are also welcome, particularly to foster the discussion between 
scholars and practitioners on central actors when it comes to the 
implementation of AI in journalism. In addition, we specifically 
encourage submissions from young and emerging scholars, particularly 
from the YECREA network.

When submitting, please note
● The conference will be held in English.
● Speakers are expected to be present. Virtual presentations are not 
possible.
● Submissions have to be in English and should be submitted as a .pdf file.
● Please state whether your contribution is a research talk or a 
work-in-progress talk.
● Please indicate whether the first author is a PhD student.
● The abstracts should include the main idea/argument, research 
questions, theoretical perspectives and/or information on methodology 
and empirical findings (if relevant).

What, where, and when to submit
● Abstracts of no more than 500 words (references excluded) should be 
sent to (aiactorconstellations /at/ gmail.com) by 17 March 2024, 23:59 (Central 
European Time)
● All submitted abstracts will undergo a review. Acceptance 
notifications will be sent out on March 31, 2024.
● Deadline for confirmation of participation is April 10, 2024.

The pre-conference will take place on September 24, 2024, at the Faculty 
of Social Sciences of the University of Ljubljana. More information can 
be found at: https://ecrea2024journalismai.wordpress.com/
The conference fee will be kept to a minimum, with lower prices for PhD 
students in part-time positions. Participants with special needs are 
kindly asked to get in touch with the organizers.

Conference Organization and Contact
Colin Porlezza, Università della Svizzera italiana; City, University of 
London
Laura Amigo, Università della Svizzera italiana
Hannes Cools, University of Amsterdam; Georgetown University
Philip Di Salvo, University of St. Gallen
Tomás Dodds, Leiden University; Harvard University

URL: https://ecrea2024journalismai.wordpress.com/
E-Mail: (aiactorconstellations /at/ gmail.com)

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