June 2025 - Air-L - lists.aoir.org

Three PhD Positions in AI, Digital Culture and Deep Learning
by Tobias Blanke 17 Mar '26

17 Mar '26

Dear all. The new European Research Council-funded Advanced Grant ‘Deep Culture - Living with Difference in the Age of Deep Learning’ invites applications for three fully-funded PhD positions in Amsterdam. Collaborating with two PostDocs, the aim is to realise an ambitious interdisciplinary research agenda on deep learning and culture. Deep learning technologies like ChatGPT have generated a lot of excitement about our new relations with AI but have also provoked much public anxiety. The project coins ‘deep culture’ to describe the global cultural transformations brought about by deep learning, and how culture is key to deep learning. The project will first explore the relations between deep learning and historical-cultural concepts and practices. Secondly, it will work with deep-learning methods to address their limitations for critical analysis. Finally, it aims to foster public understanding of deep learning’s global relations to culture. We are looking for three talented, ambitious PhD candidates who can combine independent research with team collaboration. You will have the opportunity to explore exciting questions of contemporary digital culture and deep learning and contribute to shaping debates about our relations with AI technologies. For further details and a link to apply, please visit: https://vacatures.uva.nl/UvA/job/Three-PhD-Positions-in-AI%2C-Digital-Cultu… All best, Tobias

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Call for applications: Emerging Scholars Program at the Milton Wolf Seminar in Vienna, Austria. April 8-10.
by Smith, Briar R. 13 Jan '26

13 Jan '26

Apologies for cross posting: Applications are now open for the emerging scholars program<https://www.asc.upenn.edu/research/centers/milton-wolf-seminar-on-media-and…> at our annual Milton Wolf Seminar in Vienna, April 8-10, 2025. This year's theme is Ouroboros: The Infinite Loop of Media, Democracy, and Diplomacy, and you can take a look at the 2025 agenda and panel descriptions here<https://www.asc.upenn.edu/research/centers/milton-wolf-seminar-on-media-and…>. As panel composition is still being finalized, please have a look at last year's full program<https://www.asc.upenn.edu/research/centers/milton-wolf-seminar-media-and-di…> for the impressive mix of contributors to the seminar. Each year, 10-12 early career researchers join a mix of senior scholars, journalists, think tank folks, government representatives, and activists for a two-day seminar, and have a chance to present their research while contributing to the seminar through the ample time we reserve for discussion. We also have a fun social program in the evening. Airfare and transportation and lodging and meals are covered. Please visit the website for eligibility information and how to apply<https://www.asc.upenn.edu/research/centers/milton-wolf-seminar-on-media-and…>. Deadline is 2/14. Briar Smith Associate Director Media, Inequality & Change Center (MIC) 215-520-0773 (m) 215-573-9218 (o) www.miccenter.org<http://www.miccenter.org>

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DIGITOX seminar Jan 22: Disconnection through media, apps and tech (and Feb 25: Disconnection and the brain)
by Trine Syvertsen 05 Jan '26

05 Jan '26

Welcome to the international seminar series on connection and disconnection. We continue our seminars in 2025. Details here https://www.hf.uio.no/imk/english/research/projects/digital-disconnection/e… NB: Seminars run on Norway time (CET) and are scheduled in different time slots. Contact me for a Zoom link or join the DIGITOX mailing list (below) where the links are published. Upcoming seminars: Jan 22, 2025, 1400-1500 on disconnection through media, apps and tech with Veysel Bozan and Yukun You Feb. 25, 2025 1000 -1100 on disconnection and the brain with Alex Beattie and autors of Detoxing the brain<https://norden.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?pid=diva2%3A1896952&dswid=-…> (Ingrid Forsler, Carina Guyard, and Linus Andersson) MORE SEMINARS WILL BE SCHEDULED FOR THE SPRING Best regards, Trine ------ We run two mailing lists, join DIGITOX list for these seminars. DIGITOX MAILING LIST: digitox-info: info from Digitox about our seminar series. To join, write an email to sympa(a)media.uio.no and write subscribe digitox-info in the subject field. To unsubscribe: Write an email to sympa(a)media.uio.no and write unsubscribe digitox-info in the subject field (or let me know that you want to be taken off the list). DISCONNECTION-LIST (general list) disconnection-research: to post information about research, publications, events etc. All members can post. To join: write to sympa(a)media.uio.no and write subscribe disconnection-research in the subject field. DO YOU HAVE A NEW PUBLICATION? OR A CFP? NOTIFY PEOPLE USING THE DISCONNECTION LIST; ALL MEMBERS CAN POST ON THIS LIST ------------------------------------------------------- Trine Syvertsen, professor, IMK, UiO Project: Intrusive media, ambivalent users and digital detox (NFR) Author of Digital detox: The politics of disconnecting (Emerald 2020) New book: The Digital Backlash and the Paradoxes of Disconnection (open access, Nordicom, 2024)

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now available for pre-order / Other Networks: A Radical Technology Sourcebook
by Lori Emerson 21 Nov '25

21 Nov '25

Dear all, At long last, my beloved book, Other Networks:A Radical Technology Sourcebook, is officially available from Anthology Editions for pre-order here<https://shop.mexicansummer.com/merch/495898-lori-emerson-other-networks-a-r…>! Sadly, despite publishing many beautifully designed art books, the publisher won’t be around for much longer which means there are only 1000 copies available of Other Networks. If you think you’d like a copy, consider pre-ordering as soon as you can manage it. With deep gratitude to my editor Mark Iosifescu<https://iosifescu.biz/>, book cover designer Robert Beatty<https://robertbeattyart.com/>, and interior book designer Ella Gold<https://ellagold.com/>, Other Networks catalogs 80+ networks that preceded or existed outside of the internet. It is also an educational project that comes out of my belief that we are all capable both of understanding networks from the past and of building alternative networks for the future; a love letter to experimental art and technology; and a liberatory guide for escaping the corporate present. The design brilliantly both recalls the long history of telecommunications networks (exemplified by late 19th century/early 20th century telegraph and telephone manuals) and rewrites that same history to now have a more global perspective and to include more women; Black, Indigenous, and People of Color; and artist experiments with/on these pre-internet networks. Below is the table of contents. I have also posted on my blog excerpts from or expanded versions of entries on microbroadcasting<https://loriemerson.net/2024/09/21/the-history-of-microbroadcasting-and-how…>, barbed wire fence phones<https://loriemerson.net/2024/08/31/a-brief-history-of-barbed-wire-fence-tel…>, and imaginary networks<https://loriemerson.net/2025/01/04/brief-notes-toward-activating-the-potent…>. Sincerely, Lori (Emerson) **** Chronological List of Networks<https://loriemerson.net/2024/03/15/chronological-list-of-networks-in-other-…> Chronological List of Network Experiments<https://loriemerson.net/2024/03/15/chronological-list-of-network-experiment…> Acknowledgements Foreword Introduction Wireless Networks: Sound Networks [1] Drums [2] Whistling Air Networks [3] Fire or Smoke Signals [4] Pneumatic Tubes [5] Skywriting Water Networks [6] Hydraulic Semaphore Optical Networks [7] Flag Signaling [8] Optical Telegraph [9] Infrared Communication [10] Signal Lamp [11] Heliograph [12] Photophone [13] Ultraviolet Communication [14] Laser Communication [15] Visible Light Communication Radio Networks [16] Amateur Radio [16.1] Radiotelegraphy [16.2] Radioteletype [16.3] Amateur Television [16.4] Hellschreiber [16.5] Earth-Moon-Earth Communication [16.6] Amateur Radio Satellite [16.7] Amateur Packet Radio [17] Radio Broadcast [18] Pirate Radio [19] Radiofax [20] Two-Way Radio [21] Pager [22] Meteor Burst Communication [23] Slow Scan Television [24] Project West Ford [25] Pirate Television [26] Packet Radio Network [27] Microbroadcast [28] Software Defined Radio [29] Wi-Fi [30] Bluetooth Microwave Networks [31] Microwave Radio-Relay [32] Communications Satellite Wired Networks: Electrical Wire Networks [33] Electrical telegraph [33.1] Electrical Printing Telegraph [33.2] Image Telegraph [33.3] Fire Alarm Telegraph [33.4] Pantelegraph [33.5] Telephonic Telegraph [34] Telephone [35] Wired Radio [36] Telautograph [37] Telefacsimile [38] Videophone [39] Telex Barbed Wire Networks [40] Barbed Wire Telegraph [41] Fence Phones Hybrid Networks: [42] Library [43] Book [44] Postal System [44.1] Pigeon Post [44.2] Projectile Post [44.3] Balloon Mail [44.4] Pony Express [44.5] Airgraph and V-Mail [44.6] Email Letter [45] Sneakernet [46] Radio Broadcast Network [47] Broadcast Television [48] Cable Television [48.1] NABU [49] Cellular Network [50] Time-Sharing Network [51] Teletext [52] Videotex Imaginary Networks: [53] Necromancy [54] Pasilalinic-Sympathetic Compass [55] Telephonoscope [56] Telepathy [57] Ley Lines [58] Mundaneum [59] World Brain [60] Memex [61] Faster-Than-Light Communication Networks [62] Project Xanadu [63] Metaverse [64] The Clacks [65] Pandoran Neural Network [66] Cosmic Internet -- “I use technology in order to hate it properly.” — Nam June Paik Lori Emerson | KF0LCB | she/her/they/them Associate Professor | Associate Chair Graduate Studies | Director, Media Archaeology Lab Media Studies Department | University Colorado Boulder Traditional territories of the Arapaho, Cheyenne, and Ute Nations Other Networks: A Radical Technology Sourcebook<https://shop.mexicansummer.com/merch/495898-lori-emerson-other-networks-a-r…> Mastodon<https://post.lurk.org/@loriemerson> | Bluesky<https://bsky.app/profile/loriemerson.net> | loriemerson.net<http://loriemerson.net/> | mediaarchaeologylab.com<http://mediaarchaeologylab.com/>

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CFM: Symbolic Interaction, Activism, and Social Movement
by Sarina Chen 21 Jul '25

21 Jul '25

On June 14, 2025, the No Kings protests (No Kings) incorporated several dimensions associated with collective behavior, including the combination of coordinated activism and the dissemination of information. Organizers of No Kings used the networking capacity of social media to coordinate protests against Donald Trump's policies and actions. More than five million people participated in protests in about 2,100 cities and towns in the U.S. The protests were organized by the coalition of at least 200 progressive groups, utilizing, among other formats, the Internet to coordinate large-scale and decentralized collective action. Conceptually, activism consists of efforts to promote changes in social, political, or economic practices. Those identified as activists set out to achieve a common good. Such purposeful, organized, and sustained efforts over a period of time becomes a social movement. In regard to the dissemination of information as related to activism, those identifying themselves as activists have, historically, used various media formats to identify and promote their causes. Prior to the electronic age, for instance, activists made use of oral and print media, employing word-of-mouth, pamphlets, newspapers, and books. In the post-electronic age, current activists bolster their cause via use of digital media. Such use of media enhances the ability of activists to promote civic engagement and collective action quickly, on a broad scale, and with efficacy. Basically, social media provide free publicity for activists to promote their causes with free media accounts and easy entries to activism, simply by a click of the mouse. In effect, No Kings became a cause celebre as millions of protesters gathered in various urban and rural pockets of the country on relatively short notice. The protesters created dynamic, focused, and shared objectives that, taken together, provided the foundations of a social movement. Besides publicity and recruitment, social media also help with sustaining the momentum of a cause, by constantly providing updates (posts) of one's group and instructions for connecting with members of a group. In this manner, organizers of No Kings set out to entice interested individuals to participate, immediately, and efficiently, in collective action . The organizers provided comprehensive directories for interested individuals to either find a protest near them or to start a protest on-the-spot. Organizers also utilized the discursive feature of the Internet by providing easy-to-read guides for would-be protest organizers. The guides included strategies regarding promotion of a protest, scheduling speakers, contacting media, and employing security measures, among other useful information. The practical guides allowed many to organize a protest, regardless of their prior experiential involvement in social movements. Outside of the U.S., interested parties who received information about No Kings organized protests in their respective countries as well. One of the key themes that emerged from No Kings pertained to the global outreach of the Internet. Such an outreach has, historically, created a keen interest in universal civil engagement, or the promotion of human rights as a multinational appeal for social justice. For instance, prior to No Kings, the Black Lives Matter movement (2013) involved international support from protesters in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Germany, France, Japan, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. Relatedly, No Kings also appeared in 20 countries around the world, including those aforementioned. In countries with constitutional monarchies, No Kings was replaced by “No Dictators,” or “No Tyrants” to avoid confusion. Given the increased significance of activism and social movement in the digital age, Vol. 64 of Studies in Symbolic Interaction: A Global Bi-Annual Book Series, published by Emerald Publishing in Leeds, United Kingdom, is devoted to the discussion of Symbolic Interaction, Activism, and Social Movements. Symbolic Interactionism has offered powerful insights into how activism and social movements are created and sustained through the everyday interactions and shared meanings that individuals construct. Symbolic interactionist studies have provided useful conceptual tools and fertile research in examining collective action and social organization. To follow this tradition, symbolic interactionist works that examine the use of digital technologies in activism and social movement are sought. Topics to be addressed include, but not limited to, Construction of activism Construction of social movements Activism and solidary relationships Social movements and charismatic relationships Activism and universities Digital activism Racial justice activism LGBTQ+ activism Climate change activism For all interested, please send an abstract of no more than 750 words to Shing-Ling Sarina Chen (sarina.chen(a)uni.edu) by September 1, 2025. If an abstract is selected for inclusion, the deadline of completing the manuscript is March 31, 2026. Thank you very much for your consideration. Looking forward to hearing from you. Shing-Ling Sarina Chen Studies in Symbolic Interaction

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Polymedia
by Traci Belanger 11 Jul '25

11 Jul '25

Hi everyone, does anyone have suggestions for articles on "polymedia" or specifically how polymedia interacts with media ecology? Thanks so much! Traci Belanger --- May all winds at your back inspire you, and may you have harmony and peace today.

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New CDT Report: Moderating Quechua Content on Social Media
by Dhanaraj Thakur 10 Jul '25

10 Jul '25

Hi everyone, We are excited to announce the publication of a new research report from the Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT), "*Moderating Quechua Content on Social Media.* <https://cdt.org/insights/moderating-quechua-content-on-social-media/>"We explore how social media platforms conduct analysis of user generated content in Quechua, as well as processes for enforcement and appeals of moderation decisions. In addition, many platforms use large language models (LLMs) and other automated tools to support their content moderation systems. We examine how such technologies are incorporated into trust and safety systems that handle content in Quechua. This study is part of CDT's research series on the challenges of moderating low-resource languages in the Global South (see our related research on Maghrebi Arabic <https://cdt.org/insights/moderating-maghrebi-arabic-content-on-social-media/>, Kiswahili <https://cdt.org/insights/moderating-kiswahili-content-on-social-media/>, and Tamil <https://cdt.org/insights/moderating-tamil-content-on-social-media/>). Using a mixed-method approach that includes an online survey of Quechua social media users, interviews with content moderators, influencers, linguistic activists, and digital rights advocates from Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia, we well as extended discussions with NLP researchers and LLM developers working on language technologies in Quechua, we found that: * Quechua social media users most frequently use Facebook, but most use multiple platforms, with a combination of Quechua and Spanish. * The motivation for some Quechua social media users to post online is to share their language and culture with each other and the world.Several of our interviewees affirmed that this form of linguistic activism and resistance, often done in Quechua. * Quechua social media users are confronted with multiple problems on platforms, including what they perceive as unjust content removals and algorithmic discrimination.Their own attempts at testing the platforms’ algorithms point to examples of the differential treatment between Quechua and Spanish, where moderation of the latter appeared to be more effective. These problems are driven in part by the limitations of the technologies (automated tools, LLMs, etc.) used by social media platforms. * There is a significant problem of harassment targeted at those who post in Quechua.As some interviewees recognized, part of this problem is also gendered, with women who identify as Quechua online subject to online gender based violence. * Automated content moderation technologies and trust and safety processes appear to fail Quechua social media users in several ways.Experts suggested that LLMs are not yet ready to be applied to content moderation in Quechua, given the lack of training data and other limitations. In addition, content moderation teams lack Quechua speakers and analysts, and the content policies used were essentially copied from English and Spanish and applied to Quechua content, leading to indecision, delays, and the non-removal of harmful content. We conclude with recommendations to create trust and safety systems that support language equity while respecting the rights and aspirations of those who post in indigenous languages such as Quechua. You can read and share threads on Bsky <https://bsky.app/profile/cdt.org/post/3lsjoczbofa2x>, LinkedIn <https://www.linkedin.com/posts/center-for-democracy-%26-technology_how-do-c…>and Mastodon <https://techpolicy.social/@CenDemTech/114750893089040642>, and you can access the full report here <https://cdt.org/insights/moderating-quechua-content-on-social-media/>for more details. We will soon publish a video summary of the report in Quechua and a Spanish translation (using the same link). Feel free to share within your networks. Your feedback and insights are important to us as we continue exploring the complexities of content moderation in other regions in the Global South. Best regards,Dhanaraj -- *Dhanaraj Thakur* (he/him) | Research Director Center for Democracy & Technology |*cdt.org <https://cdt.org/>* **dthakur(a)cdt.org | **+1 202 407 8849

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The 16th IEEE International Conference on Knowledge Graphs (ICKG 2025): Last Mile for Paper Submission
by Announce 04 Jul '25

04 Jul '25

*** Last Mile for Paper Submission *** The 16th IEEE International Conference on Knowledge Graphs (ICKG 2025) November 13-14, 2025, 5* St. Raphael Resort and Marina, Limassol, Cyprus https://cyprusconferences.org/ickg2025/ (*** Proceedings to be published by IEEE ***) (*** Submission Deadline: July 4, 2025 AoE (firm!) ***) The annual IEEE International Conference on Knowledge Graph (ICKG) provides a premier international forum for presentation of original research results in knowledge discovery and graph learning, discussion of opportunities and challenges, as well as exchange and dissemination of innovative, practical development experiences. The conference covers all aspects of knowledge discovery from data, with a strong focus on graph learning and knowledge graph, including algorithms, software, platforms. ICKG 2025 intends to draw researchers and application developers from a wide range of areas such as knowledge engineering, representation learning, big data analytics, statistics, machine learning, pattern recognition, data mining, knowledge visualization, high performance computing, and World Wide Web etc. By promoting novel, high quality research findings, and innovative solutions to address challenges in handling all aspects of learning from data with dependency relationship. All accepted papers will be published in the conference proceedings by the IEEE Computer Society. Awards, including Best Paper, Best Paper Runner up, Best Student Paper, Best Student Paper Runner up, will be conferred at the conference, with a check and a certificate for each award. The conference also features a survey track to accept survey papers reviewing recent studies in all aspects of knowledge discovery and graph learning. At least five high quality papers will be invited for a special issue of the Knowledge and Information Systems Journal, in an expanded and revised form. In addition, at least eight quality papers will be invited for a special issue of Data Intelligence Journal in an expanded and revised form with at least 30% difference. TOPICS OF INTEREST Topics of interest include, but are not limited to: • Foundations, algorithms, models, and theory of knowledge discovery and graph learning • Knowledge engineering with big data • Machine learning, data mining, and statistical methods for data science and engineering • Acquisition, representation and evolution of fragmented knowledge • Fragmented knowledge modeling and online learning • Knowledge graphs and knowledge maps • Graph learning security, privacy, fairness, and trust • Interpretation, rule, and relationship discovery in graph learning • Geospatial and temporal knowledge discovery and graph learning • Ontologies and reasoning • Topology and fusion on fragmented knowledge • Visualization, personalization, and recommendation of Knowledge Graph navigation and interaction • Knowledge Graph systems and platforms, and their efficiency, scalability, and privacy • Applications and services of knowledge discovery and graph learning in all domains including web, medicine, education, healthcare, and business • Big knowledge systems and applications • Crowdsourcing, deep learning and edge computing for graph mining • Large language models and applications • Open source platforms and systems supporting knowledge and graph learning • Datasets and benchmarks for graphs • Neurosymbolic & Hybrid AI systems • Graph Retrieval Augmented Generation SURVEY TRACK Survey paper reviewing recent study in keep aspects of knowledge discover and graph learning. In addition to the above topics, authors can also select and target the following Special Track topics. Each special track is handled by respective special track chairs, and the papers are also included in the conference proceedings. • Special Track 01: KGC and Knowledge Graph Building • Special Track 02: KR and KG Reasoning • Special Track 03: KG and Large Language Modela • Special Track 04: GNN and Graph Learning • Special Track 05: QA and Graph Database • Special Track 06: KG and Multi-modal Learning • Special Track 07: KG and Knowledge Fusion • Special Track 08: Industry and Applications SUBMISSION GUIDELINES Paper submissions should be no longer than 8 pages, in the IEEE 2-column format, including the bibliography and any possible appendices. Submissions longer than 8 pages will be rejected without review. All submissions will be reviewed by the Program Committee based on technical quality, originality, significance, and clarity. For survey track paper, please preface the descriptive paper title with “Survey:”, followed by the actual paper title. For example, a paper entitled “A Literature Review of Streaming Knowledge Graph”, should be changed as “Survey: A Literature Review of Streaming Knowledge Graph”. This is for the reviewers and chairs to clearly bid and handle the papers. Once the paper is accepted, the word, such as “Survey:”, can be removed from the camera-ready copy. For special track paper, please preface the descriptive paper title with “SS##:”, where “##” is the two digits special track ID. For example, a paper entitled “Incremental Knowledge Graph Learning”, intended to target Special Track 01 (Machine learning and knowledge graph) should be changed as “SS01: Incremental Knowledge Graph Learning”. All manuscripts are submitted as full papers and are reviewed based on their scientific merit. The reviewing process is single blind, meaning that each submission should list all authors and affiliations. There is no separate abstract submission step. There are no separate industrial, application, or poster tracks. Manuscripts must be submitted electronically in the online submission system. No email submission is accepted. To help ensure correct formatting, please use the style files for U.S. Letter as template for your submission. These include LaTeX and Word. SUBMISSION LINK https://wi-lab.com/cyberchair/2025/ickg25/ IMPORTANT DATES • Paper submission (abstract and full paper): July 4, 2025 (AoE) (firm!) • Notification of acceptance/rejection: September 5, 2025 • Camera-ready, copyright forms and author registration: September 20, 2025 • Early (non-author) registration: October 10, 2025 • Conference dates: November 13-14, 2025 ORGANISATION Conference and Local Organising Chair • George A. Papadopoulos, University of Cyprus Conference Co-Chair • Dan Guo, Hefei University of Technology Program Chairs • Cesare Alippi, Università della Svizzera italiana • Shirui Pan, Griffith University Local Organising Vice Chair • Irene Kinlanioti, National Technical University of Athens Finance Chair • Constantinos Pattichis, University of Cyprus Steering Committee Chair • Xindong Wu, Hefei University Of Technology

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Special Issue on “Negotiating Digital Visibility in Asia” published in Convergence
by Saif Shahin 01 Jul '25

01 Jul '25

Dear friends! Our special issue on "Negotiating Digital Visibility in Asia" has just come out in Convergence journal. Please take a look. https://journals.sagepub.com/toc/CON/current The issue comprises 19 articles examining the practices, motivations, challenges, and concerns about digital visibility from Azerbaijan to Japan, China to the Philippines. We have tried to foreground themes, communities, and locations that are less visible in academic literature — including racialised and gendered minorities, underground artistic groups, diasporic communities and so on. But the articles also look at the reasons why some highly visible phenomena, such as K-pop, achieved their success. Many thanks to all the authors, reviewers as well as friends who helped publicise our call for papers — including many on this listserv. As guest editors, we worked on putting this issue together for two years and are quite proud of the result. We hope that you would find it interesting and useful for your own work. Best wishes, Saif, also on behalf of Qian, Jing and Hiromi _____ *Saif Shahin, Ph.D.* Assistant Professor <https://www.tilburguniversity.edu/staff/s-s-shahin> of Digital Culture Director, Digital South Research Lab <https://www.tilburguniversity.edu/research/humanities/digital-south-lab> Tilburg University, Netherlands Associate Editor <https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/witp20/about-this-journal#editorial-bo…> Journal of Information Technology & Politics Google Scholar <https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=pzy87iEAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao> | ResearchGate <https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Saif-Shahin> Recent articles Fractured Spectacle <https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/13548565251335427> ( *Convergence*, 2025) #StopAsianHate as Hashtag Activism <https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/20563051241309701> (*Social Media + Society*, 2025) Black Lives Matter Goes Global <https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/14614448211057106> (*New Media & Society*, 2024) Platform Affordances and Spiral of Silence <https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0160791X23002361> (*Technology in Society*, 2024)

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Final call: AOIR Preconference AI and infrastructure CFP
by Fenwick Mckelvey 30 Jun '25

30 Jun '25

Hi all To all AOIR attendees, please consider attending. We have ~20 spots for presentations but we are hoping to hear from you July to gauge interest. We are asking for short abstracts to help us organize the conference. Full-day, 15 October 2025 at AOIR 2025 Big AI’s demands for this world are becoming clearer. Microsoft, in 2023, announced plans to build new data centers with nuclear power to fuel new energy-hungry models (Calma, 2023). Google and Amazon made similar announcements subsequently (da Silva, 2024; Olick, 2024). Plans to build nuclear-powered AI data centers clearly illustrate the scale and consequences of AI as a social blueprint — rendering clear “the choices (implicit or explicit) made in the course of technological innovation” and demanding reflection on “the grounds for making those choices wisely” (Winner, 1986, p. 18). Building on the material turn in Internet Studies (Hesmondhalgh, 2022; Sandvig, 2013), our preconference gathers scholars to explore ruptures against the growing cyberphysical project of “Big AI” (van der Vlist et al., 2024) or “AI as platform” (Mahnke & Bagger, 2024). We welcome all AOIR attendees to participate in our preconference. To help us organize the pre-conference, please complete this survey to request a presentation slot, or to be a facilitator: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=hfFpVS_SE06YUM5bGr… We ask potential presenters and facilitators to please complete the form by 27 June 2025 to give us time to organize. Please read the preconfernece's description below. Our preconference has three objectives: Share findings and digital methods that expose AI’s global technological footprint with an emphasis on the Americas or engaged and speculative research on alternative AI infrastructures that may include local or regional infrastructure, the fediverse, frugal AI infrastructures, decentralized, and/or distributed infrastructures; Facilitate comparative policy research on measures to promote alternative AI infrastructures as well as benefit public interest and community benefits for these alternative infrastructures; Develop a joint statement about recommendations for a new infrastructure for AI to be written collaboratively by discussants. Together, our pre-conference seeks to cultivate an international research community dedicated to understanding AI’s infrastructural impact and its alternatives. The conference offers international scholars a chance to develop collaborative projects as well as shape collective policy recommendations. Outputs directly advance the annual call for “strategies and tactics to address the ruptures caused by platformization” in this case of AI? We focus our call on questioning what public interest infrastructure would look like for AI. Public interest AI refers to “support those outcomes best serving the long-term survival and well-being of a social collective construed as a ‘public’” (Public Interest AI, n.d.). The Paris Charter on Artificial Intelligence in the Public Interest (2025), published after the Paris AI Summit, aims to “encourage a more comprehensive and inclusive design of AI in the public interest, in terms of technology, organization and institutions that serve different jurisdictions and communities in attaining similar success.” Public interest AI, however, is already a contentious term and not dissimilar to other terms “AI for Good” or “Responsible AI” that can act as ethics washing (Bourne, 2024; Wagner, 2018). Scholarly attention is required to define public interest AI as a critical concept. The preconference will be a full day to ensure there is time for presentations, networking, and collaborative activities. Participants will be selected through a peer-reviewed call with two tracks, one for presentations and a second for discussants and facilitators. Presentations will advance objectives 1 and 2 in the morning. The afternoon will leverage discussants and facilitators to develop collaborative research projects and synthesize research into a joint statement. Our schedule can accommodate two parallel tracks to welcome 20 presentations and a total of 50 participants. A closing plenary will showcase key themes, with discussants offering reflections and key insights from the day. Our preconference intends to be multilingual, with collaborators working in English, French, Portuguese, and Spanish. The steering committee will accept abstracts in all four languages. The preconference is made possible by the Chaire de recherche du Québec sur l’intelligence artificielle et le numérique francophones and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. Organizers: Fenwick McKelvey-Concordia University, Canada; Mónica Humeres-Universidad de Chile; Claudia López-Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María; Veridiana Domingos Cordeiro-University of São Paulo; Luciano Frizzera-University of Waterloo; Nicolas Chartier-Edwards – Institut national de la recherche scientifique References Calma, J. (2023, September 26). Microsoft is going nuclear to power its AI ambitions. The Verge. https://www.theverge.com/2023/9/26/23889956/microsoft-next-generation-nucle… da Silva, J. (2024, October 15). Google turns to nuclear to power AI data centres. BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c748gn94k95o Hesmondhalgh, D. (2022). The Infrastructural turn in Media and Internet Research Proposal review. In P. McDonald (Ed.), The Routledge companion to media industries (pp. 132–142). Routledge. Mahnke, M. S., & Bagger, C. (2024). Navigating platformized generative AI: Examining early adopters’ experiences through the lens of data reflectivity. Convergence, 30(6), 1974–1991. https://doi.org/10.1177/13548565241300857 Olick, D. (2024, October 16). Amazon goes nuclear, plans to invest more than $500 million to develop small modular reactors. NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/business/energy/amazon-goes-nuclear-plans-invest-50… Public Interest AI. (n.d.). Retrieved February 23, 2025, from https://publicinterest.ai/ Sandvig, C. (2013). The Internet as Infrastructure. In W. H. Dutton (Ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Internet studies (pp. 86–108). Oxford University Press. The Paris Charter on Artificial Intelligence in the Public Interest. (2025, February 11). Elysee.Fr. https://www.elysee.fr/en/emmanuel-macron/2025/02/11/the-paris-charter-on-ar… van der Vlist, F., Helmond, A., & Ferrari, F. (2024). Big AI: Cloud infrastructure dependence and the industrialisation of artificial intelligence. Big Data & Society, 11(1), 20539517241232630. https://doi.org/10.1177/20539517241232630 Wagner, B. (2018). Ethics As An Escape From Regulation: From “Ethics-washing” to Ethics-shopping? In E. Bayamlioğlu, I. Baraliuc, L. Janssens, & M. Hildebrandt (Eds.), Being Profiled (pp. 84–89). Amsterdam University Press; JSTOR. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvhrd092.18 Winner, L. (1986). The Whale and the Reactor: A Search for Limits in an Age of High Technology. University of Chicago Press. -- Be good, Fen Be good, Fen

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