[Commlist] Conference: Media Technologies and Future Storytelling

Online Conference: Media Technologies and Future Storytelling
16 December 2025
(Deadline for Abstract submission, November 14, 2025)

We are pleased to announce an online one day conference exploring the 
evolution of storytelling in the wake of advancements in media 
technologies. This event will investigate how emerging technologies are 
reshaping the way we tell, preserve, and reimagine our stories.
We live in a world where stories are not just read and watched but 
physically felt through technologies like (VR/AR/XR). As technologies 
like VR, AR, and XR make the user's body an integral part of the 
narrative, we must ask: How does embodiment change our psychological and 
emotional connection to a story? How Generative AI is reshaping the 
roles of the writer, artist, and designer in narrative creation? Asking 
such questions makes it essential to keep keen attention to the 
political economy of media technologies and their impact on storytelling.

Another key shift is driven by algorithms. From "For You" pages to 
personalized streaming recommendations, our story diets are increasingly 
tailored by data. As we focus on the future impact of technologies, the 
speculative abilities of the tech to reimagine our past and present can 
also not be ignored. For example, the use of VR to recreate lost 
civilizations and using AI to give voice to historical figures etc.
But above all, what are the ecological costs of such media technologies 
and immersive storytelling? While the media technologies have advanced 
in ways more than we could imagine before, investigating the ecological 
footprint of these immersive tech is one of the core concerns of 
critical discourse.

Following is the list of the guiding questions for this conference:

  * AI as the Co-author *-* How is generative AI reshaping the roles of
    the writer, artist, and designer in narrative creation? Where does
    "authorship" lie in a story co-created with a non-human
    intelligence, and what are the ethical and legal implications?

  * Storytelling in Immersive Realities**- How does embodiment in VR/XR
    change our psychological and emotional connection to a narrative?
    What new narrative structures and techniques are required when the
    audience can literally look, move, and interact anywhere?

  * Algorithmic Audience and the Streaming Media - How does
    algorithmically-driven personalization enhance or limit our exposure
    to diverse narratives and perspectives? In what ways the audience
    perceives these technologies to tailor their online experience on
    streaming platforms.

  * Speculative Tech: Reimagining Past and Present *-* How can
    technologies like AI and VR function as tools for critical and
    counter-historical storytelling, challenging dominant narratives?
    What are the ethical responsibilities involved in using speculative
    technology to represent real historical events, traumas, or figures?

  * Immersive Media and The Ecological Cost *- *How does one explore the
    paradox of creating virtual worlds while incurring real-world
    environmental impacts and seek narratives and practices that promote
    digital sustainability. How can storytellers and developers
    quantify, mitigate, and communicate the environmental impact of
    creating and distributing immersive media experiences?

Please submit a 200-300 word abstract  here 
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScMfO6PVYtw3DdRl5gcrUWy7DlNqlBcC-eZvPykn3z2fT8PUg/viewform 
<https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScMfO6PVYtw3DdRl5gcrUWy7DlNqlBcC-eZvPykn3z2fT8PUg/viewform> 
on the above mentioned themes. You can also submit abstracts for your 
creative works such as Speculative Fiction, Art Projects, Photo-essays, 
films etc.

Selected papers as best presentations will be considered for publication 
in Lacuna <https://lacunajournal.org/> Journal.

No APC for participants.

*Deadline:* 14/11/2025

*Language:* English

For any queries write to this email: (conferencemtfs /at/ gmail.com)

Organizers:
Critical Media Studies Masters' Students
HSE University Moscow

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