Communication practitioners are now faced with difficult questions regarding which of emerging technologies can substantially improve their workflow and which only add to the technological noise interfering with the essence of their work. Even if productivity considerations have encouraged the adoption of Artificial Inteligence systems in many areas of professional communication, it is still not certain which tasks can be safely delegated to the technological systems, if one takes into account their oscillating levels of accuracy. As concerns for end-product quality increase in many areas, it becomes clear that most of these new options need a substantial amount of supervision and correction on the part of human professionals. The conference call is thus emphasizing the need to examine theories, concepts, ideas for best practices, and attempts to understand the changing parameters for professional success.

4th International Conference “Communication in Action: From Theory to Practice and Back” (CIA 2024)

Organisation

The Department of Communication Sciences and Public Relations from the Faculty of Philosophy and Social-Political Sciences at the “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iasi, Romania, is delighted to invite you to participate in the 4th International Conference “Communication in Action: From Theory to Practice and Back” (CIA 2024).

The conference is organized together with our academic partners: The Institute for Advanced Religious Studies and Internetworking Communication (IARSIC-CORHIS EA 7400) from the University Paul Valéry Montpellier III, France and the Faculty of Communication from the Istanbul Arel University, Türkiye.

The central theme of CIA 2024 is: Emerging Technologies in Communication: Best Practices and Theoretical Frameworks for Professional Success

Argument

Being an early adopter of emerging technologies has long been regarded as a strategic approach to achieving success in many areas of professional communication. On the one hand, the ability to seize opportunities as they arise positions oneself favorably in a highly competitive market. On the other hand, it can help create and maintain a powerful brand for those practitioners, one associated with high levels of professional competence, openness, and engagement in a continuous learning process — all of which are essential qualities for one’s success in fields such as public relations, advertising, marketing communications, and journalism.

However, the past few years have brought unprecedented levels of innovation, with numerous communication tools, hidden by multiple veils of complexity, emerging at an overwhelming pace. Being in touch with all the novelties and challenges brought by these instruments can now be a full-time endeavor for professionals, as artificial intelligence systems, along with virtual and augmented reality tools, have become a moving target, advancing and changing the rules of the game in real-time.

Communication practitioners are now faced with difficult questions regarding which of these technologies can substantially improve their workflow and which only add to the technological noise interfering with the essence of their work. Even if productivity considerations have encouraged the adoption of AI systems in many areas of professional communication, it is still not certain which tasks can be safely delegated to the technological systems, if one takes into account their oscillating levels of accuracy. As concerns for end-product quality increase in many areas, it becomes clear that most of these new options need a substantial amount of supervision and correction on the part of human professionals, which means that new and more important questions arise:

• Does this change in the nature and the organization of their work impact the levels of motivation and satisfaction that communication professionals feel?
• Which of the communication professionals will see their work augmented by automated system, and which of them will see it displaced by them?
• What should professionals do to make themselves more difficult to displace — should they focus on mastering the supervision of new technologies, or rather focus on developing the uniquely human traits that machines are yet unable to reproduce?
• Are there areas where professionals can only achieve high levels of skill if they do not rely on technological tools too early in their career development?

To adequately address these questions and go beyond the multitude of speculations around technological innovations, it may be necessary to diversify the existing theoretical frameworks of communication and incorporate perspectives from communication scholars, researchers, and professionals from different cultural backgrounds and whose work spans across different fields of communication. The conference call is thus emphasizing the need to examine theories, concepts, ideas for best practices, and attempts to understand the changing parameters for professional success.

We therefore invite scholars and practitioners to share their insights on the following topics (but not limited to them):

• Contrast overhyped metaphors with evidence-based analyses of the impact of emerging technologies in professional communication;
• Designing empirical research in a real communication context to assess the impact of emerging technologies;
• Building theoretical frameworks with relevant managerial implications in communication settings focused on emerging technologies;
• Developing new models for understanding the new features of the professional communication that are based on emerging technologies;
• Designing research proposals focused on the impact of emerging technologies on communication scholarship;
• Analyzing the differences between various types of emerging technologies that influence the work of communication professionals: technologies that are hosting human-created content; technologies that are curating and recommending human-created content; technologies that are generating content; technologies that are monitoring content available online on a certain topic; forecasting technologies;
• Assessing the risks involved in the low reliability and predictability of artificially generated content used in PR, media, advertising, and journalism;
• Providing case studies of both successful and failed integration of AI generated content into the work of professionals in PR, advertising, online communication, mass media, and journalism;
• Exploring the changing expectations of employers and audiences after the massive adoption of LLM-generated content;
• Analyzing the risks that artificially generated content may intensify communication pathologies that are already pervasive in the industry (vague accountability for misleading content, bias, noise, low cultural sensitivity, etc.).

Conditions for participation

• The application consists of sending the title of the intended contribution, an abstract, and 5 to 7 keywords (the templates for abstracts and articles are on the conference website);
• After the acceptance of the proposal, the decision to participate in the conference implies that at least one of the authors must attend the conference onsite;
• Each presentation will last 15 minutes in either French or English, after which there will be 10 minutes of comments and discussions. The conference also offers the option to submit a special panel.
• There is also a chance to present specific topics by a group of researchers. If you want to submit a panel proposal, more information about the procedure is available on the conference website.

Venue

The “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iasi, Romania

Mention: Scholars from abroad should also consider the Erasmus+ Programme, which provides funding opportunities to promote transnational mobility activities. This program is specifically designed for staff members employed by organizations that specialize in education, training, and youth (e.g., professors, teachers, trainers, and youth workers).

Important dates

• October 25, 2024: Submission deadline

(Write your proposals in either English or French, ensuring they include a title, a 200-300 words abstract, 5-7 keywords, and the author’s name and affiliation. Send the word document via email to ciaconference@uaic.ro)

• October 30, 2024: Confirmation of acceptance
• November 1, 2024: Fees Payment (see details on the conference website)
• November 7, 2024: Registration
• November 7-9, 2024: Plenary conference and panel presentations

Scientific Committee

• Daniel CONDURACHE
• Stefan BRATOSIN
• Mihaela-Alexandra TUDOR
• Antonio MOMOC
• Camelia BECIU
• Delia BALABAN
• Camelia CMECIU
• Dan-Cristian DABIJA
• Gheorghe-Ilie FÂRTE
• Ștefania BEJAN
• Ioan-Alexandru GRĂDINARU
• Camelia GRĂDINARU
• Daniel-Rareș OBADĂ

Organising Committee

• Daniel-Rareș OBADĂ - Chairman of the Organising Commitee
• Gabriela POLEAC - Secretary of the Organising Commitee

Members:

• Horia-Costin CHIRIAC
• Gheorghe-Ilie FÂRTE
• Ioan-Alexandru GRĂDINARU
• Ioana GRANCEA
• Camelia GRĂDINARU
• Tudorel RUSU

Junior Organising Team

• Dr. Alexandra Niculina Gherguț-Babii
• Drd. Vlad Moroșanu
• Drd. Valentin Roberto Dragomir
• Andreea Spenchiu
• Julieta Calotă
• Laura Cosmina Vatamanu
• Codruț Rapciuc
• Gabriela Mihalescu
• Ana-Maria Crintea
• Lara Morariu