Call for Papers

The three-day international workshop aims to explore the issue of trust and distrust in connection to the diffusion and adoption of Generative Artificial Intelligence, Automated Decision-Making Systems, and other types of AI systems in various societal domains, including work and labor, politics and journalism, healthcare and education, creative industries and media industries among others.

The debate about AI is thriving, with speculations about its future pointing towards many directions and possibilities. Some argue for an imminent further development of AI that will bring strong disruption to societies, while others do not attribute the same disruptive potential to AI.

A crucial matter in this debate that deserves to be discussed more thoroughly is how different types of actors in societies experience AI and decide to trust it or, on the contrary, distrust it in their daily practices. A related topic is to what extent and how the diffusion and adoption of AI might change the trust and mistrust that different social actors have in various societal institutions, including news media organizations and news outlets, political parties and politicians, public bodies, and, more broadly speaking, the functioning of democracies at large.  

The international workshop aims to bring together scholars from different disciplinary perspectives in the social and political sciences who are tackling the issue of trust and distrust in AI. More specifically, while we are open to different proposals, we are looking for papers that explore the issue of trust and mistrust in connection to AI used in different societal realms.

The international workshop embraces methodological pluralism, so papers based on different types of research designs and methods are welcome. Proposals can include papers that present findings based on robust empirical research, or papers that present work in progress and new frameworks for interpreting and analyzing trust and mistrust in connection to AI in different societal realms. Some topics of interest are the following:

  • Citizens’ trust and mistrust in AI when used in connection to various forms of political participation, including grassroots ones, and the production of news
  • Citizens’ trust and mistrust in AI to integrate it into their social practices (e.g. in daily life, job search, academic practices for knowledge production, AI skills and AI literacy, health information and communication with doctors)
  • Workers’ trust and mistrust in AI when adopted in companies and integrated in their working routines
  • Professionals (i.e. journalists, doctors, professors, publishers among others) trust and mistrust in AI when integrated in their working routines
  • Discourses and imaginaries about trust and distrust of AI developed by collective actors, including professional associations, workers’ unions, political parties, movement and civil society organizations
  • The potential impact that trust and distrust in AI may have on how citizens, workers, and consumers engage with various small-scale and large-scale institutions and how this changes their understanding of democracy.
 

 

WORKSHOP FORMAT

 

The workshop aims to bring together junior and senior researchers working on trust in connection to AI in different societal realms from different disciplinary perspectives in the social and political sciences. It will feature a small number of selected paper presenters (max. 15) who will present and discuss their work in ad-hoc panels on specific topics. 

The workshop will be hosted by the Department of Political and Social Sciences of the University of Bologna. It will be an in-person, attendance-only event, and no hybrid option will be available. 

 

HOW TO PARTICIPATE

 

Interested participants should send 500-word extended abstracts to ai_sps@live.unibo.it by 15 July 2025.  

Extended abstracts should include the following information 

  • Empirical papers: the research question/objectives, research design and methods, and preliminary/expected findings.   
  • Theoretical papers: the theoretical framework and contribution to the extant literature and current scientific debates

Accepted participants will be notified by the end of July 2025 and asked to register by 10 October 2025.  Accepted papers must be at least 5000 words in length, references included and may be a work in progress. 

 

FEES

 

There are no fees for the workshop and paper presenters will be offered lunch and a social dinner.  Unfortunately, no other forms of financial support are available. 

 

KEY DATES TO REMEMBER

 

  • 30 June: Abstract submission deadline 
  • 30 July: Notification of accepted papers  
  • 10 October: Deadline for registration  
  • 1 December: Submission of accepted paper drafts  
  • 10-12 December: International Workshop at the University of Bologna