Call for Book Chapters AI & Society - The Publicness of Artificial Intelligences: Social Values, Normative Conflicts and Democratic Horizons

Vernon Press invites original chapter proposals for the forthcoming edited volume The Publicness of Artificial Intelligences: Social Values, Normative Conflicts and  Democratic Horizons, edited by Sara Pane and Marinella Belluati (University of Turin).

Description

In recent years, artificial intelligence has moved from a largely technical and sector-specific concern to a central object of public debate, policy-making and  democratic contestation. As Artificial intelligence (AI) systems have evolved from early expert tools to contemporary machine learning and generative AI, their integration into public governance, institutional practices and  communicative environments has intensified, producing differentiated impacts across public, institutional and  communicative contexts. This progressive diffusion has raised pressing questions about power, legitimacy, accountability and trust, while simultaneously challenging established distinctions between human judgement, institutional responsibility and  machine-mediated decision-making.

This edited volume examines the societal implications of AI as a socio-technical transformation, advancing a transdisciplinary analytical framework for understanding AI's effects on public governance, democratic institutions and  the relationship between citizens and public authorities. The volume brings into dialogue social representations theory, political science and  communication and media studies, including public and political communication, while integrating insights from science and technology studies (STS) and the ethics of AI, in order to analyze the societal, institutional, democratic and  epistemic implications of AI, including the attribution of reasoning, judgement and  authority to machine systems.

The volume foregrounds questions of power, governance, meaning-making, epistemic authority and  democratic accountability, with particular attention to how AI systems may appear to reason while in fact operating through computational inference and  to the consequences of this perception for public trust, institutional legitimacy and  decision-making. It focuses especially on AI as it is designed, communicated and  deployed in the public sector, public policy and  democratic processes, treating communication and interaction as central analytical dimensions through which AI is understood, legitimized and  contested. The volume adopts a critical and reflexive approach, rejecting technologically deterministic or solutionist perspectives and  examining AI as a socially constructed, politically embedded and  normatively consequential set of socio-technical systems.

The volume welcomes both theoretically driven chapters that advance conceptual and normative debates and  empirically grounded contributions presenting original research findings, case studies, or comparative analyses. While the volume is anchored in the European context, particularly about public governance, democratic institutions and  regulatory frameworks such as those developed within the European Union, it explicitly encourages comparative and international perspectives. Contributions addressing non-European contexts, cross-national comparisons and  global governance dynamics are especially welcome, insofar as they engage with the societal, institutional and  democratic implications of AI.

Possible Topics

We invite original chapter proposals addressing topics including, but not limited to, the following:

•      AI and ethics

•      Algorithmic bias, inequality and  social justice

•      AI, expertise, epistemic authority, machine 'reasoning' and  public trust

•      AI in social and everyday life

•      AI and power dynamics

•     Governance, regulation and  accountability frameworks

•      Anticipatory governance, foresight and  future-oriented public policies

•      AI governance models: comparative and international perspectives

•      Human–machine interaction, including agency, delegation, oversight and  responsibility

•      Civic AI and participatory approaches to AI governance

•      AI, education and  the formation of informed citizens and critical thinking

•      Creativity, co-creation and  social innovation

•      AI and public communication and meaning-making

•      AI, democracy and  the public sphere

•     AI and democracy integrity

•     AI, media and journalism

•     Algorithmic gatekeeping and disinformation

 The editors particularly welcome chapters grounded in empirical research and in-depth case studies, as well as contributions offering critical, theoretical, or reflexive perspectives. Interdisciplinary approaches are strongly encouraged. The volume explicitly invites contributions from scholars in communication and media studies, political science, science and technology studies, AI ethics and  the human–computer interaction (HCI) and human–AI interaction communities, particularly where these fields engage with public sector applications, democratic governance, participation and  questions of agency, responsibility and  legitimacy.

Submission Guidelines

Chapter proposals should include an abstract of 400–500 words clearly outlining the chapter's focus, theoretical framework, methodological approach and  significance to the volume's themes, accompanied by a brief biographical statement (max. 100 words) for each author, institutional affiliation and  contact details.

Proposals and queries should be submitted to the volume editors:

•        Sara Pane — sara.pane@unito.it

•        Marinella Belluati — marinella.belluati@unito.it

Key Dates

•        Abstract submission deadline: 30 April 2026

•        Notification of acceptance: 31 May 2026

•        Full manuscript deadline: 31 October 2026 (chapters of 5,000–7,000 words, references included)

•        Authors' feedback: 7 January 2027

•        Final manuscript submission: 28 February 2027