Call for Abstracts:

II EPEA: International Seminar on the Public Sphere in the Age of Algorithms
Under the theme: Artificial Intelligence and Political Communication
Organized by the Media Studies Group at LabCom – the Communication Laboratory of the University of Beira Interior (UBI) in Covilhã, Portugal
December 10-11, 2026
Online
https://labcom.ubi.pt/epea/

Deadline for submission of abstracts: September 30, 2026

OVERVIEW

The rapid popularisation of generative artificial intelligence through easily accessible platforms such as ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude has introduced challenges related to the automated production of content, the authenticity of information, the concentration of technological power, and transformations in communicative practices. The traditional conception of reality appears to be collapsing, with the emergence of multiple alternative explanations for social challenges, thereby calling into question traditional information intermediaries. The expansion of algorithmic systems, digital platforms, and AI technologies is profoundly reshaping the conditions of visibility, participation, deliberation, and conflict in contemporary democracies.

Political communication is no longer organised solely around traditional media, political parties, electoral campaigns, or representative institutions. It increasingly permeates everyday digital life, platformised environments, recommendation systems, discursive automation tools, generative models, microtargeting, the viral circulation of content, and the continuous production of political affects. AI should not be understood merely as a communication tool, but as part of a broader sociotechnical infrastructure capable of mediating public perceptions of events, shaping collective attention, amplifying antagonisms, reorganising practices of participation, and producing new forms of symbolic power.

In this context, the Media Studies Group at LabCom – the Communication Laboratory of the University of Beira Interior (UBI) is organising, on 10 and 11 December 2026, the II EPEA – International Seminar on the Public Sphere in the Age of Algorithms, under the theme Artificial Intelligence and Political Communication. The event aims to reflect on the future of the public sphere in the face of the challenges posed by AI through synchronous presentations of papers via videoconference.

Abstracts, with a maximum length of 350 words, should be submitted by 30 September 2026, in Portuguese, English, or Spanish, via the following form: https://forms.gle/74uycCbZf412greo8.
Accepted papers will be published in a book edited by LabCom UBI.

THEMATIC AREAS

Proposals must be original, and each author or co-author may submit a maximum of two proposals. Submissions that combine empirical research, theoretical reflection, and critical analysis on the following topics are particularly welcome:

• AI, Populism, and Authoritarian Leadership
• Algorithmic Literacy and Digital Citizenship
• AI and New Networked Social Movements
• AI, the Public Sphere, and the Crisis of Deliberation
• Surveillance, Control, and Predictive Policing
• AI, Political Polarisation, and Online Radicalisation
• AI Regulation and Platform Governance
• AI, Political Microtargeting, and Electoral Communication
• AI and New Forms of Agenda-Setting and Gatekeeping
• Conspiracy Theories and Algorithmic Recommendation
• Hate Speech, Symbolic Violence, and Digital Harassment
• Deepfakes, Disinformation, and Data Authenticity
• Algorithmic Transparency, Auditing, and Accountability
• AI Ethics, Algorithmic Discrimination, and Human Rights
• Feminist, Anti-Racist, Environmental, or Labour Movements

ABSTRACT SUBMISSION

Abstract: Up to 350 words (excluding the title, keywords, and references)

Language: Portuguese, English, or Spanish

Content: title, abstract, keywords, author(s), and institutional affiliation

Deadline: 30 September 2026

Submission form:
https://forms.gle/74uycCbZf412greo8

TIMELINE

6 July 2026: Call for Papers Announced
30 September 2026: Deadline for Abstract Submission
15 October 2026: Notification of Accepted Abstracts
31 October 2026: Registration Confirmation and Payment
10–11 December 2026: Seminar Held Online (100% Virtual)

REGISTRATION FEES

€30 (online)
Free of charge (for LabCom UBI members)

EVENT BROADCAST

The II EPEA will be streamed live on the LabCom UBI YouTube channel.

ORGANIZING COMMITTEE

João Carlos Correia
Branco Di Fátima
Lourenço Silva Ferreira
Débora Gato
Inês Salvador
Haphisa Mugnaini

Universidade da Beira Interior