Aims and scope

AI & Society: Knowledge, Culture and Communication, is an International Journal publishing refereed scholarly articles, position papers, debates, short communications, systematic reviews and reviews of books and other publications. Established in 1987, the Journal focuses on societal issues including the design, use, management, and policy of information, communications and new media technologies, with a particular emphasis on cultural, social, cognitive, economic, ethical, and philosophical implications, addressing the need for a paradigm shift in the way digital systems are conceived, used, applied, and regulated.

 AI & Society positions the significance of values for critical thinking, a diversity of cultural perspectives and practices to address the issues of our times to shape AI mediated futures for the common good. We welcome reflective and contextual contributions and participation from researchers and practitioners in a variety of fields including humanities, social sciences, arts and sciences, design, and digital media arts.  This includes broader societal and cultural impacts and contexts. The journal encourages contributions exploring the potential and fundamental values beyond algorithmic optimization, efficiency, or profitability. Co-authored articles from diverse disciplines are encouraged.

 AI & Society has a broad scope and is strongly interdisciplinary. It examines the role of algorithms as scientific instruments, knowledge institutions and instruments for shaping cultures, and argues that we need to shift from algorithmic governance shaping society to society shaping the algorithm. Most fundamentally, it asks how is the shift from personalization to personification of algorithmic technologies affecting our ability to navigate indeterminacy- that which cannot be modelled in advance, and deal with that which is not represented, with the tacit, or the excluded?

AI & Society seeks to promote an understanding of the potential, transformative impacts and critical consequences of technological mediation for societies. Technological innovations, including new sciences such as biotech, nanotech and neuroscience, offer a great potential for societies, but also pose existential risk. Rooted in the human-centred tradition of science and technology, the Journal acts as a catalyst, promoter and facilitator of engagement with diversity of voices and over-the-horizon issues of arts, science, technology and society.

AI & Society expects that, in keeping with the ethos of the journal, submissions should provide a substantial and explicit argument on the societal dimension of research, particularly the benefits, impacts and implications for society. This may include factors such as trust, empathy, ethics, aesthetics, biases, privacy, reliability, responsibility, and competence of AI systems. Such arguments should be validated by critical comment on current research in this area.

The journal is in five parts: a) Research; b) Open Forum; c) Curmudgeon Corner; d) Reviews; e) News.

Research Section papers are underpinned by theoretical, methodological, conceptual or philosophical foundations, and include substantial discussion and argument on the societal impact of research. Articles in this section are expected to make a significant contribution to knowledge. Open Forum Section papers may include strategic ideas, case studies, action research, research in progress (theoretical and applied), critical reviews of ongoing research that should reflect on the authors’ own empirical/theoretical work or provide a reasoned argument. It may also include papers by artists and practitioners. Multiple authored papers in Research and Open Forum should include a summary of the contribution of each author to the paper. Curmudgeon Corner is a short opinionated letter to the editor on trends in technology, arts, science and society, commenting emphatically on issues of concern to the research community and wider society, with no more than 3 references and 2 co-authors. The Curmudgeon Corner letters are reviewed by the Editorial Board. Review articles may encompass a variety of formats, including critical evaluations of literature reviews, informed surveys of contemporary research topics, reflective overviews of current thinking in specific areas, and reasoned discussions on the relevance of the reviews to application domains situated within societal contexts. They may also include reviews of art and science practices, exhibitions, events, research forums, and books. Reviews often feature critical evaluations of data from existing studies, providing an in-depth analysis of the current state of knowledge. This section is reviewed by the Editorial Board. News may include information about forthcoming events such as conferences, workshops, exhibitions, related forums, etc.

Normal word length: Research 10k, Open Forum 8k, Curmudgeon 1k – 1.5k, Reviews 1k - 8k, News 500 words – 1k. 

Please do not send your submissions by email but use the "Submit manuscript" button.

NOTE TO AUTHORS: The Journal expects its authors to include, in their submissions:
a) An acknowledgement of the pre-accept/pre-publication versions of their manuscripts on non-commercial and academic sites.
b) Images: obtain permissions from the copyright holder/original sources.
c) Formal permission from their ethics committees when conducting studies with people.
d) i) Academic academic status, e.g., Prof. Dr. Post-doc, PhD Candidate, Master Student. ii) Affiliation: department/school/university/ or organisation/professional status. 
e) In the cover letter, include 3 Proposed reviewers: academic status (e.g., Dr, Professor, Ms, Mr), email addresses and affiliations of all reviewers proposed by authors

Special Issue on Ethics and Autonomous Vehicles: Understanding the ethical issues that arise with the introduction of self-driving and highly automated Vehicles
Submission Date: 2026-01-30

Understanding the societal and ethical implications of AI systems such as autonomous vehicles inherently involves many concerns: the nature and capabilities of these technologies, how humans can and should use them, how humans will respond to the presence of AVs in the traffic stream and the AV technology’s impact on socioeconomic structures. Thus, producing new knowledge in this area requires the expertise of multiple disciplines and this collection of AI & Society seeks to serve as a crucial incubator for evidence and ideas pertaining to this domain of AI.

Abstract submissions due: 30th August 2025

For inquiries and to submit your abstract, please contact: Aisocietyncstate@gmail.com with the subject “AI&S Special issue on Ethics and AVs.”

Special Issue on AI in Asia: Social and Ethical Concerns
Submission Date: 2026-02-28

This collection is opened to Asian Social and Ethical concerns related to AI. Asia is a large continent, with highly diverse religious and cultural systems, variations in industrial development, differing approaches to both government and governance, and unique historical and contemporary geopolitical dynamics that deserve to be treated independent of European or North American (or comparatively with African or Latin American) issues. It is also an important question because Asia is the most populated continent.

Existing studies on intercultural ethics of AI (Hongladarom and Bandasak 2024), comparative governance systems (Hine and Floridi 2024; Okuno and Okuno 2025), and postcolonial studies of AI (Ofosu-Asare 2025; Rodríguez 2025; Hassan 2023) highlight the importance of this work and the need for further studies. While comparative approaches are welcome, this topical collection seeks original research that attends specifically to the Asian context, understood both broadly across the region and within specific Asian societies. To this end, we encourage inter-cultural comparison within the Asian continent, with the special issue serving as a meta-comparative collection on Asian AI concerns. We encourage interdisciplinary approaches to studies along three broad branches: 1) philosophical and cultural considerations rooted in Asian perspectives; 2) political and social AI issues unique to specific Asian societies; 3) region-specific, trans-national challenges raised by AI.

Please consult the detailed call for papers at https://link.springer.com/journal/146/updates/27806474before submitting