37.3471, Confs: AI and Discourse Studies: Digitalization and Implications for the Knowledge Economy (Online)

[The LINGUIST List]

LINGUIST List: Vol-37-3471. Thu 22 Oct 2026. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 37.3471, Confs: AI and Discourse Studies: Digitalization and Implications for the Knowledge Economy (Online)

Moderator: Steven Moran (linguist at linguistlist.org)
Managing Editor: Valeriia Vyshnevetska
Team: Helen Aristar-Dry, Daniel Swanson
Jobs: jobs at linguistlist.org | Conferences: callconf at linguistlist.org | Pubs: pubs at linguistlist.org

Homepage: http://linguistlist.org

Editor for this issue: Valeriia Vyshnevetska <valeriia at linguistlist.org>

================================================================


Date: 20-Oct-2026
From: René Foidl [rene.foidl at ph-noe.ac.at]
Subject: AI and Discourse Studies: Digitalization and Implications for the Knowledge Economy


AI and Discourse Studies: Digitalization and Implications for the
Knowledge Economy

Date: 17-Jun-2027 - 18-Jun-2027
Location: Online
Contact: René Foidl
Contact Email: rene.foidl at ph-noe.ac.at
Meeting URL:
https://discourseanalysis.net/en/ai-and-discourse-studies-digitalization-and-implications-knowledge-economy

Linguistic Field(s): General Linguistics

Submission Deadline: 01-Feb-2027

AI and Discourse Studies: Digitalization and Implications for the
Knowledge Economy
Organizers: René Foidl (University College of Teacher Education Lower
Austria), Jens Maesse (University of Giessen), Marcella Palladino
(University of Modena and Reggio Emilia).
The production, validation, and use of knowledge are undergoing
profound transformations in the age of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
AI tools influence knowledge production in education, research, media,
politics, consulting, advertising, and many more areas in everyday
life. In addition to that, AI is used to manage entire systems in
medicine, traffic management, water supply, electricity industrial
production, military and many more. Furthermore, technical innovations
accelerate at a breathtaking pace. The assessment of the consequences
of these developments range from “productivity enthusiasm”,
"emancipatory and developmental optimism” (i.e. medicine etc.) and
“fear and reservation”.
>From the viewpoints of sociology, political science, discourse
studies, linguistics, education studies and political economy, AI is
reshaping social life in manyfold respects. Whereas traditional forms
of knowledge production are relatively transparent in terms of
sources, authorship, and methodology, AI-driven processes increasingly
rely on opaque and often untraceable mechanisms.
The shift to AI raises critical questions regarding the attribution of
speaker positions, authorship, accountability, and the various
criteria by which knowledge is validated. Despite widespread
skepticism —particularly among social groups whose cultural capital is
rooted in text-based labor (e.g. academics, educators, journalists)—
AI is becoming an increasingly pervasive tool across domains of
intellectual work. As such, it reconfigures social relations through
the mediation of AI-created knowledge itself.
We invite contributions to a two-day online workshop. This online
workshop aims to bring together researchers from a range of
disciplines —including linguistics, sociology, political economy, and
computer science— to engage in interdisciplinary dialogue about the
challenges and transformations brought by the digitalization of the
knowledge economy.
The contribution proposals will address (but are not limited to) the
following topics:
- Linguistic and discourse analysis of AI-generated texts.
- Attribution of authorship, authority, and legitimacy in relation to
AI.
- Ethical, legal, and social dimensions of AI accountability.
- Construction and positioning of speakers in AI-mediated discourse.
- Discursive production and validation of truth in digital contexts.
- Misinformation, bias, and manipulation risks associated with AI.
- Applications of AI in education, journalism, academia, and beyond.
- Change in power relations through the devaluation of classical
knowledge production.
In addition to that, we invite contributions from all fields of
research and disciplines, including:
- Computer science and programming
- Math, Statistics, Physics
- Engineering
- Social Sciences
- Cultural Studies
- Linguistics
- Economics, Political Economy
The abstract as well as the presentation should include the following
aspects:
- Research question (e.g. How is the AI xyz providing validity of
information?)
- Field of research/research object (e.g. ChatGPT on political
discourse in Germany and France compared)
- Short Literature review on the research topic (including
non-academic information)
- Results (e.g. “AI draws in most cases a on a conventional linguistic
style”)
The presentation should be no longer than fifteen (15) minutes. At the
end of the workshop participants will be given time to finalize their
contribution for a Special Issue in an international journal or volume
edited by the organizers.
The workshop will be held online over two consecutive days on 17/18
June 2027. Active participation in all sessions is expected from all
contributors.
Submission Guidelines:
- Please submit an abstract of your paper of about 1000 words by 1
February 2027 to the following addresses: rene.foidl at ph-noe.ac.at
- Notifications of acceptance will be sent by the end of April 2027.


------------------------------------------------------------------------------

********************** LINGUIST List Support ***********************
Please consider donating to the Linguist List, a U.S. 501(c)(3) not for profit organization:

https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=87C2AXTVC4PP8

LINGUIST List is supported by the following publishers:

Australian Linguistics Society https://als.asn.au/Home

Bloomsbury Publishing http://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/

Cambridge University Press http://www.cambridge.org/linguistics

Cascadilla Press http://www.cascadilla.com/

De Gruyter Brill https://www.degruyterbrill.com/?changeLang=en

Edinburgh University Press http://www.edinburghuniversitypress.com

European Language Resources Association (ELRA) http://www.elra.info

John Benjamins http://www.benjamins.com/

Language Science Press http://langsci-press.org

MDPI Languages https://www.mdpi.com/journal/languages

MIT Press http://mitpress.mit.edu/

Multilingual Matters http://www.multilingual-matters.com/

Narr Francke Attempto Verlag GmbH + Co. KG http://www.narr.de/

Netherlands Graduate School of Linguistics / Landelijke (LOT) http://www.lotpublications.nl/

Peter Lang AG http://www.peterlang.com

SIL International Publications http://www.sil.org/resources/publications

University of Toronto Press https://utppublishing.com


----------------------------------------------------------
LINGUIST List: Vol-37-3471
----------------------------------------------------------