"Futuring Communication Research: Communicative AI as Methodological Toolbox and Research Companion"

The editorial board of Media & Communication Science (M&K) is calling for submissions for an English-language special issue on “Futuring Communication Research: Communicative AI as a Methodological Toolbox and Research Companion.” The guest editors are Prof. Dr. Stephanie Geise, Prof. Dr. Marko Bachl, PD Dr. Merja Mahrt, and Prof. Dr. Annie Waldherr.

Call for Papers as pdf.

Introduction to the Topic

Communicative artificial intelligence (ComAI) is defined as AI systems that are directly involved in communication processes. These machine-based systems perceive their environment through input data and, on this basis, generate, process, and shape communication. In this way, they acquire social significance and become embedded in communicative contexts. ComAI can be understood as both a technical tool and an actor within mediated communication processes that helps shape meaning, interaction, and knowledge production.

However, if ComAI helps shape meaning, interaction, and knowledge production, communication research cannot simply respond by adopting new tools. Instead, communication research requires what we refer to here as the “futuring of communication research”: a forward-looking and reflective approach to how knowledge in this field is produced, interpreted, and validated under conditions shaped by communicative AI.

Deadlines

Those interested in contributing to this special issue are invited to submit a detailed abstract of their proposed manuscript in English with a maximum of 6,000 characters, including spaces, to the editorial office by November 30, 2026.

Based on these abstracts, the editorial board and the guest editors will develop the concept for the special issue. They will inform authors of their decision by December 17, 2026. Selected authors will then be asked to submit their complete manuscripts by March 15, 2027.

All manuscripts submitted will undergo M&K’s standard double-blind peer review process. Depending on the number of submissions, the initial review is expected to take approximately three months, followed by a two-month revision period. The revised manuscripts will then undergo a second round of peer review. The special issue is scheduled for publication in Issue 4 (fourth quarter) of 2027.

Address: Editorial Office Medien & Kommunikationswissenschaft [Media & Communication Science], Christiane Matzen, c.matzen@leibniz-hbi.de