[Commlist] CFP for circulation: Voices Without Faces

CFP: Voices Without Faces - Synthetic Communicators, Trust, and 
Accountability (edited volume; abstracts due 15 December 2026)

CALL FOR CHAPTERS - EDITED VOLUME

Voices Without Faces: Synthetic Communicators, Trust, and Accountability 
- Arab and Global Perspectives

Editors: Alamira Samah Saleh (Cairo University and Sinai University, 
Egypt), Muhammad Jameel Yusha'u ([Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), 
Harvard University]) and Nermeen Alazrak (Cairo University and Canadian 
International College, Egypt)
Foreword: Ernest Zenko (Centre for Responsible AI, University of Primorska)
Proposal in preparation for Springer Nature

A news anchor who never sleeps. A journalist with a byline and no birth 
certificate. An influencer followed by millions, with no pulse. A 
spokesperson who answers the public at 3 a.m., without hesitation.

This is no longer speculative fiction. Synthetic communicators are 
already at work in newsrooms, broadcast studios, and communication 
departments worldwide, including across the Arab region. They revive old 
questions in new forms:
- Who is speaking when AI speaks for us?
- Do audiences have a right to know their communicator is not human?
- And who is accountable when the one who errs has no face?

This edited volume treats the synthetic communicator as a single 
phenomenon that cuts across journalism, broadcasting, and public 
relations. It brings together theory, empirical research, and 
practitioner insight, with particular attention to Arab and Global South 
experiences.

POSSIBLE THEMES
We welcome contributions on, but not limited to:
1. Concepts and mapping: definitions, typologies, histories, and 
organizational uses of synthetic communicators.
2. Ethics and accountability: disclosure and labeling; consent, 
likeness, and voice rights; editorial and organizational responsibility.
3. Disinformation and impersonation: deepfakes and the impersonation of 
journalists, presenters, and spokespersons.
4. Journalism: AI-generated bylines, automated news, and synthetic 
journalist personas.
5. Broadcasting and audio: virtual presenters, voice cloning, and 
automated dubbing.
6. Public relations and strategic communication: virtual influencers, AI 
spokespersons and agents, and crisis communication.
7. Audiences: trust, credibility, and parasocial bonds with synthetic 
personas.
8. Identity and representation: gender, appearance, language, and 
culture in persona design, including synthetic Arabic voices and dialects.
9. Regulation and the professions: codes, policy, the future of 
communication work, and media education.

Especially welcome: conceptual frameworks and typologies of synthetic 
communicators; virtual influencers and AI spokespersons in public 
relations and advertising; gender, appearance and culture in synthetic 
persona design; codes, regulation and policy; and cases from the Gulf, 
the Maghreb, Europe and North America.

WHO SHOULD CONTRIBUTE
Scholars, researchers, and advanced doctoral candidates, as well as 
practitioners in media organizations, communication departments, and 
regulatory bodies, from the Arab world and beyond. Comparative and 
interdisciplinary work is especially welcome.

SUBMISSION DETAILS
- Now: a 300-word chapter abstract and a 100-word bio.
- Abstract deadline: 15 December 2026
- Notification of acceptance: 10 January 2027
- Full chapters: 6,000-7,000 words, due 31 August 2027, blind 
peer-reviewed by two referees.
- Fees: no fees are charged at any stage.

Please send abstracts to: (samahsaleh2002 /at/ cu.edu.eg) 
<mailto:(samahsaleh2002 /at/ cu.edu.eg)> and (nermeenalazrak /at/ mcomm.cu.edu.eg) 
<mailto:(nermeenalazrak /at/ mcomm.cu.edu.eg)>

The book proposal is being prepared for submission to Springer Nature. 
Final publication is subject to the publisher's approval and review process.




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