Message posted on 13/06/2019
CfP "Automating Communication", Keynote Zuboff – DEADLINE 15.07.
Dear Eurograd-community, <br> <br>the Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society (HIIG) and the <br>Weizenbaum-Institute for the Networked Society are jointly hosting an <br>International Conference: <br> <br>Automating Communication in the Networked Society: Contexts, Consequences, <br>Critique <br>November 6-8, 2019 in Berlin <br>Keynote by Shoshana Zuboff <br> <br>This is the annual conference of the German Communication Association’s <br>Division “Digital Communication”. The theme speaks to a broad set of <br>issues, including the dynamics of innovation, actors and strategies, digital <br>methods and their critical reflection, and theoretical contributions. Please <br>find the Call for Papers below and at the conference website: <br>https://www.digikomm2019.de <br> <br>Deadline for abstracts submission is July 15, 2019. Don’t hesitate to <br>contact me if you have questions. <br> <br>Best, <br>Christian Katzenbach <br> <br>Senior Researcher, Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society, <br>Berlin <br>http://www.hiig.de/staff/christian-katzenbach/ <br> <br> <br> <br>###### <br> <br>AUTOMATING COMMUNICATION IN THE NETWORKED SOCIETY: <br>CONTEXTS, CONSEQUENCES, CRITIQUE <br> <br>November 6-8, 2019 in Berlin <br>Keynote by Shoshana Zuboff <br> <br>A defining—yet understudied—feature of digital communication is <br>automation: the <br>production of content, the distribution of information and messages, the <br>curation of media <br>use and the governance of content are all increasingly shaped and influenced <br>by <br>automated processes and automated actors. <br> <br> <br>Algorithms automate the production of content, algorithms operate the <br>selection and <br>filtering of information in news, news feeds and search engines, they <br>attribute relevance <br>and popularity, perform content moderation and fact-checking. Automated actors <br>such as <br>social bots participate both in organizational communication such as customer <br>service <br>and, as a potential force of manipulation, in election campaigns. While <br>communication <br>scholars have focused their attention on algorithms in diverse areas of the <br>field, they can <br>be studied as a means of the broader process of automating social relations <br>and public <br>communication. <br> <br> <br>Because automation takes place in hybrid media systems, automation is not <br>restrained to <br>social media platforms or apps, but also plays a role in journalism and legacy <br>media, as <br>well as in interpersonal communication. Algorithms write simple news articles, <br>rank mostread articles, and shape what journalists find relevant or <br>newsworthy. Networked <br>societies rely on permanent connectedness, all of which takes place in <br>strongly automated, <br>curated environments of data gathering, sharing, liking, commenting: <br>monitoring complex <br>actor-networks, self mass-communication, or organizing protest through <br>connective <br>action. <br> <br> <br>The story of automating communication has two sides: the few who are shaping, <br>designing, <br>programming and implementing algorithms and other technologies, and the many <br>who are <br>using and are impacted by automated communication. In this regard, automation <br>raises <br>questions of power and power relations. Automating core features of democracy <br>such as <br>the assignment of relevance and legitimacy to issues, actors, and specific <br>content, based on <br>data and algorithms controlled and operated by a few private companies, <br>challenges <br>notions of transparency, due process, and legitimacy. What are the regulatory <br>measures to <br>curb this power? And are automation, algorithms, and artificial intelligence <br>really <br>meaningful answers to social problems? <br> <br>Submissions may cover one or several of the following aspects: <br> <br> <br>1. Theoretical innovations <br>The process and consequences of automating communication challenge <br>theoretical <br>concepts. Are bots actors? Are algorithms institutions? Are software <br>developers <br>communicators? Does automated communication cause dissonance and disrupted <br>public <br>spheres, and how? Are concepts around consonance and deliberation really <br>“out of touch <br>with reality” (Pfetsch & Bennett 2018)? How does automated communication <br>affect media <br>use and media effects? How can we theoretically model automated <br>communication? <br> <br> <br>2. Dynamics of communication <br>Algorithms are at the core of automation, because automation works through <br>algorithms. <br>But how do they change and challenge the dynamics, the processes, and <br>structuration of <br>communication? How do search engines impact on public communication and <br>information <br>retrieval? How does the curation of news feeds work and how do they affect how <br>media <br>users receive information? What causes and influences the viral distribution <br>of content? <br>How do hate speech and “fake news” travel in networks of social media <br>platforms and <br>legacy media? Do algorithms cause filter bubbles and echo chambers? What is <br>the impact <br>of the increasing automatic detection of content deemed illegitimate (e.g., <br>hate speech, <br>copyright violation, nudity) in social media and comment section? What is the <br>role of <br>datafication for automated and automating communication? <br> <br> <br>3. Actors and strategies, accountability and governance <br>Automating communication affects and involves a variety of actors: when <br>algorithms <br>produce content, this changes the effort and role of journalists. How do media <br>actors work <br>with algorithmic content production? Are journalists “gaming” the <br>algorithms of platforms, <br>and how? Who creates the tools and affordances that automate <br>communication—and <br>under which conditions? What happens when low-wage employees execute highly <br>automated tasks, partly in order to mimic algorithms and artificial <br>intelligence <br>(“fauxtomation”)? New and (semi-)automated actors such as trolls, <br>connected activist, and <br>social bots alter the strategies of campaigning and the way parties and other <br>organizations <br>plan their activities. Who can be held accountable for automated <br>communication? What <br>are challenges and possible solutions for regulation and media policy? <br> <br> <br>4. Methods and critical reflection of methods <br>Studying automated communication often involves computational methods and <br>trace data. <br>But qualitative methods such as ethnography, interviews or observations can <br>also help to <br>understand how algorithms are created, platforms are shaped, and actors use or <br>make <br>sense of automated communication. Particularly research focusing on social <br>media <br>platforms faces severe challenges of data access and data management nowadays, <br>dealing <br>with data protection regulation, privacy issues, and proprietary data. <br>Analyses of <br>automated actors, such as bots, rely on black-boxed tools and call for <br>interdisciplinary <br>approaches. We thus also invite submissions with a critical perspective on <br>research <br>methods, revisiting research ethics and quality standards. <br> <br> <br>5. Open call <br>In addition to topic-specific submissions, there is an open call for current <br>research on <br>digital communication. We also welcome submissions that are not directly <br>related to the <br>conference theme but address pertinent issues of the research field. This must <br>be noted in <br>the submission. <br> <br>Submissions <br>Extended abstracts (4,000 to 5,000 characters, exclusive bibliography and any <br>appendices) <br>can be submitted by 16 June 2019 in electronic form (*.docx, *.rtf or *.odt; <br>not *.pdf) as email <br>attachments to submissions@digikomm2019.de The abstracts must be made <br>anonymous by means of a separate cover page and the removal of all <br>identifying <br>information from the text and document settings. <br> <br> <br>All submissions will be evaluated in a peer review according to the following <br>criteria <br>customary in the German Communication Association: theoretical foundation, <br>relevance of <br>research questions, method/procedure, novelty/originality, clarity and <br>conciseness of <br>presentation. The results of the review process will be announced by <br>mid-August 2019. <br> <br> <br>Organization <br>The conference will take place from November 6-8, 2019 in Berlin. The event is <br>hosted by <br>the Weizenbaum Institute for the Networked Society (FU Berlin) and the <br>Alexander von <br>Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society. More information will be added on <br>the <br>website, such as location, program, and social events: www.digikomm2019.de <br> <br> <br>Hosts and contact <br>German Communication Association, Digital Communication Division <br>Christian Katzenbach, katzenbach@hiig.de <br>Christian Pentzold, christian.pentzold@uni-bremen.de <br> <br> <br>Weizenbaum Institute for the Networked Society/FU Berlin and Alexander von <br>Humboldt <br>Institute for Internet and Society <br>Ulrike Klinger, ulrike.klinger@fu-berlin.de <br>Christian Katzenbach, katzenbach@hiig.de <br> <br>[demime 1.01d removed an attachment of type application/pdf which had a name of DigiKomm_2019_CfP-ver2.pdf] <br>_______________________________________________ <br>EASST's Eurograd mailing list <br>Eurograd (at) lists.easst.net <br>Unsubscribe or edit subscription options: http://lists.easst.net/listinfo.cgi/eurograd-easst.net <br> <br>Meet us via https://twitter.com/STSeasst <br> <br>Report abuses of this list to Eurograd-owner@lists.easst.netview formatted text
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