[Commlist] CfP: Industrialisation and (De)professionalisation of Communication in the Age of AI Tools

  Call for Papers for the Journal Communication & Professionalisation

  Special Issue: Industrialisation and (De)professionalisation of 
Communication in the Age of AI Tools

  https://ojs.uclouvain.be/index.php/comprof/announcement/view/1253

  Context

Communication professions are at the heart of profound transformations, 
driven by the combined effects of technological changes (Babashahi et 
al., 2024), organizational demands for agility (Balog, 2020), and a 
gradual shift toward forms of algorithmic industrialization (Deliu & 
Olariu, 2024), alongside far-reaching societal questions (Crawford, 
2021). The emergence of generative, predictive, and decision-making 
artificial intelligence is redefining the division of communicative 
labor, competency frameworks, professional identities, and the 
governance of expertise in this sector (Buhmann & Gregory, 2023). Where 
communication professionals, across the diversity of roles and functions 
they undertake, previously asserted their editorial and synthesis 
skills, as well as their creativity and strategic sense, what skills can 
they now still claim in view of the functionalities and performance of 
generative, analytical, or predictive artificial intelligence?

  Is a true industrialization of communication—defined here as the 
transfer of activity to algorithmic agents—indeed underway (Srnicek, 
2017)? Should we be speaking of the outsourcing of communication, 
similar to platforms (or marketplaces) where millions of independent 
workers (freelancers), whose intellectual services for companies in 
France mostly include communication consulting and/or digital marketing, 
as well as design and digital creation, interact?

Projections support the hypothesis of a substantial acceleration in the 
transformation of work, whose forms and consequences for communication 
professionals warrant careful examination. Two simultaneous dynamics are 
emerging: on one hand, enhanced industrialization of practices, based on 
standardization, automation, platform logic, and AI-assisted 
productivity; on the other, processes of deprofessionalization (Evetts, 
2005) that result in task fragmentation, the precarization of certain 
job statuses, loss of autonomy, and the emergence of "self-proclaimed 
experts" (Collins & Evans, 2007; Brown, 2020).

This issue seeks to examine, through various empirical studies, the 
effects of these transformations on communication professions, 
structured around three main themes: (1) industrial changes tied to AI 
tools; (2) the redefinition of professionalism and career trajectories; 
(3) professionalization and training through/with AI tools. Above all, 
the aim is to interrogate the meaning of "industry" in relation to 
practice and its (potential) separation from craftsmanship (Caliste & 
Carnino, 2022) and professional ethos (Sennett, 2008) in communication 
professions.

A prospective review of the outsourcing of communication 
services—understood as the subcontracting of activities and tasks 
previously assigned to professionals (Vallas & Schor, 2020)—invites a 
reconsideration of the division of labor (Durkheim, 1993) and the role 
of the actor in a system (Crozier & Friedberg, 1977) characterized by 
dependence on technological "solutions" offered by AI providers.

Central Questions

How is AI transforming the communication industry? What are the impacts 
on professions, competencies, and production processes? How can 
professionals adapt to these changes and leverage the opportunities 
offered by AI tools? This special issue of Communication & 
Professionalisation aims to explore these questions and propose avenues 
for reflections on the future of professionalization in communication in 
such a context.

Special Issue Coordinators

• Patrice de La Broise, Université de Lille, 
(patrice.de-la-broise /at/ univ-lille.fr)

• Marc D. David, Université de Sherbrooke, (marc.d.david /at/ usherbrooke.ca)

• François Lambotte, UCLouvain, (francois.lambotte /at/ uclouvain.be)

  Timeline

• Launch: 26 September 2025

• Abstract submission deadline: 15 November 2025 (by email to the 
coordinators)

• Notification on abstracts: 30 November 2025

• Full paper submission deadline: 28 February 2026 (submission mandatory 
via the journal platform)

• Author notification: 15 May 2026

• Planned publication: End of November 2026

Communication & Professionalization (ISSN: 2566-2171) is an open access 
scientific journal with double-blind peer-reviewed articles. It is 
published by the International Network on the Professionalization of 
Communicators (RESIPROC), which brings together Belgian, Canadian and 
French researchers and practitioners. It is supported by the Language 
and Communication Institute of the Catholic University of Louvain. The 
journal is included in the list of recognized scientific journals in the 
field of Information and Communication Sciences (ICS - CNU 71). Article 
Processing is free of charges for the authors.


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