Call for Articles “Algorithmic inequality: governance, representation and rights in artificial intelligence”

Scientific coordinators: Carme Colomina Saló (CIDOB), Daniel Innerarity (Institute for Democratic Governance) and Marta Cantero Gamito (EUI School of Transnational Governance)

Deadline for submitting abstracts: November 30^th, 2023

Mail to:  publicaciones@cidob.org 

Barcelona, October 2023

Founded in 1982, Revista CIDOB d’Afers Internacionals is a four-monthly cultural-academic journal covering international affairs. A groundbreaking publication in the Spanish-speaking world, each issue is a monograph curated by experts that provides in-depth, interdisciplinary analysis of a topic on the international agenda. All published papers are original pieces of research that have undergone an external double-blind peer review process and are indexed in the main social sciences academic databases, such as Scopus and Web of Science. 

Subject matter and content of issue 138:

“Algorithmic inequality: governance, representation and rights in artificial intelligence”

Societies in general increasingly rely on data-based predictive models for automated decision-making. Artificial intelligence (AI) occupies a growing institutional space in public administration and international relations, challenging the legitimacy and even the rationality of the design of decision-making processes, and determining new centres of power. AI, then, is not only altering the democratic relationship between governors and governed, but also the realignment of international powers.

Against this backdrop, issue 138 of Revista CIDOBd’Afers Internacionals aims to contribute to the public debate – using an approach based on sharing case study experiences – as well as to the development of forecasts for a digital transition that iscompatible with democracy. The proposal, then, is to analyse the challenges involved in securing a democratic AI both online and offline, because the debate over how to arrange categories, groups and individuals to address the discrimination deriving from belonging to a certain one hinges not on algorithmic aggregation alone but rather on the political debate in general. In fact, AI and algorithmic governance systems in general have proven to reproduce discriminatory biases. It has been demonstrated that AI-driven profiling and decision-making are skewed against certain ethnic groups and minorities. Data discrimination is already a real social problem.

From a geopolitical perspective, issue 138 of Revista CIDOBd’Afers Internacionals also seeks to reflect on AI’s impact on the transformation of international relations and security, as well as explore the possibilities of international cooperation on the development and regulation of AI. 

How can we transform the prevailing paradigms of technology use to encourage the development of an AI that is not based solely on linear and deductive reasoning? How can we achieve an AI capable of adapting, learning and evolving in response to complex and dynamic political debates inherent in democracy? How can we promote the governance of an AI transformed into an instrument of global power?

Issue 138 of Revista CIDOB d’Afers Internacionals aims to: 

1. contribute to the debate on the democratisation of AI from the understanding that to do so requires rethinking concepts that form the basis of democracy, i.e. citizenship and the rights to equality, freedom and privacy, to comprehend how they have been transformed in an AI-mediated context; 

2. reflect on specific cases of AI application and algorithmic governance in political and social contexts and in international relations, with a focus on how these technologies impact equity, inclusion and democracy from an intersectional perspective on gender bias in AI; 

3. address the debate over the different responses being proposed, from the underlying ideological confrontation in the development and use of AI to the concept of an ethical AI (self-regulating), to the route of legal restrictions; 

4. explore how can we transform the prevailing paradigms of technology use to encourage the development of an AI that is not based solely on linear and deductive reasoning. 

We welcome all submissions of original work grounded in empirical and theoretical research. The theoretical framework of this issue rests on the interdisciplinary study of AI and algorithmic governance, along with consideration of theories on democracy, ethics and politics. We value proposals that, from an international relations perspective, address AI from a variety of theoretical approaches, including but not limited to the sociology of technology; political theory; the theory of justice; the ethics of AI; scientific and technological research; and communication, as well as studies on discrimination and equity. 

In terms of subject matter, we shall value the following research topics: 

• bias and discrimination in AI systems
• algorithmic transparency and responsibility
• the digital divide and algorithmic inequality
• the geopolitics of AI
• AI and gender equality
• smart cities, AI and inequality
• non-discrimination in upcoming EU regulation on AI (AI Act) 

Timetable for the call for papers:

November 30^th, 2023: Deadline for submission of abstracts (300 words) and a short biographical note on the author(s) (100 words).

January 8^th, 2024: Notification of authors of the result of the selection.

March 20^th, 2024: Deadline for submission of full manuscripts (see author instructions).

Selection process:

• The editorial board – in this issue, coordinated by Marta Cantero Gamito, Carme Colomina Saló and Daniel Innerarity – will draw up a shortlist of proposals based on the abstracts received. 
• The authors of the shortlisted proposals will receive detailed instructions on submitting full manuscripts within the stipulated time limit.
• The final texts, following scientific screening, will undergo an external double-blind peer review process to determine a paper’s acceptance for publication.
• All written communication must be sent by email to the following address: publicaciones@cidob.org

Additional conditions: 

• Submissions must be unpublished originals.
• Papers will be accepted in Spanish (preferred) and English.
• The papers will be published in Spanish with abstracts in English.