[Commlist] CfP ECREA Communication & Democracy Section Off-Year Conference

*Call for Papers*

*ECREA Communication & Democracy Section Off-Year Conference*

*/Automating Democracy: AI Use Between Social Justice and Social Control/*

*Erasmus University Rotterdam, 22-23 May 2025*

*Deadline for abstracts: January 15, 2025 *

https://automatingdemocracy.wordpress.com/ 
<https://automatingdemocracy.wordpress.com/>

*
*

Dear colleagues,

We invite submissions for the ECREA Communication & Democracy Section's 
off-year conference, Automating Democracy: AI Use Between Social Justice 
and Social Control, hosted by the Erasmus School of History, Culture and 
Communication in Rotterdam on May 22-23, 2025.
This conference will explore the transformative effects of artificial 
intelligence (AI) on democratic processes, focusing on two inter-related 
themes:
· AI & governance
· AI & citizen participation
We welcome a broad range of submissions engaging with both practical 
applications of AI and the technological hype through which AI is 
represented and talked about in political life. We are interested in 
questions such as: How is the technological hype around AI impacting 
contemporary democratic imaginaries? What would civic-oriented AI 
solutions entail? How are public discussions about automated 
decision-making informing the public sector’s propensity towards 
implementing such solutions in governance? How can citizens call for the 
development of ethical and transparent AI-use in governance? What are 
citizens and public authorities doing with AI? To what extent can AI 
facilitate citizen mobilization and political participation?
The conference will bring together faculty, PhD students and research MA 
students conducting critical research to examine AI’s potential in 
advancing social justice and inclusion, as well as its capacity for 
social control and marginalization. We are particularly interested in 
theoretical and empirical contributions that explore the role of AI in 
(re)shaping public policy, governance practices and democratic 
oversight; and, the role of AI in empowering or suppressing political 
participation, citizen activism and social movements.
The two-day event will include two keynote lectures, panel discussions, 
and a practitioner-scholar roundtable. This roundtable will provide a 
platform for dialogue between civil society representatives and 
participants on current practices and challenges of AI-use for 
progressive social change.
Conference submission and fees
Please submit a 250-words abstract indicating the intended theme by 
January 15, 2025, via email at (automatingdemocracy2025 /at/ gmail.com)
Notifications of acceptance will be sent by February 15, 2025.
Registration fees: 150 euro for PhD and (research) MA students; 200 euro 
for faculty members. PhD and (research) MA students should indicate 
their status in the abstract. The fee covers coffee-breaks and lunch 
during the conference.
The organizers intend to bring together the conference contributions 
into an edited collection.
For more information, visit the conference website at 
https://automatingdemocracy.wordpress.com/ 
<https://automatingdemocracy.wordpress.com/>
Conference organizing committee
Dr. Delia Dumitrica, Erasmus University Rotterdam
Dr. Ofra Klein, Erasmus University Rotterdam
Victoria Balan, Erasmus University Rotterdam
Dr. Giuliana Sorce, Tubingen University
Dr. Jun Liu, University of Copenhagen
Dr. Arianna Bussoletti, Sapienza Universita di Roma


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