Call for Chapters:

Voices Without Faces: Synthetic Communicators, Trust, and Accountability – Arab and Global Perspectives
Edited volume proposal in preparation for Emerald Publishing
http://commlist.org/archive/calls/2026-all/msg00813.html

Editors:
Prof. Alamira Samah Saleh (Cairo University and Sinai University, Egypt)
Prof. Nermeen Alazrak (Cairo University and Canadian International College, Egypt)

Deadline for submission of abstracts: December 15, 2026

Synthetic communicators are already at work in newsrooms, broadcasting studios, and communication departments worldwide, including across the Arab region: AI news anchors, automated bylines, virtual influencers, and AI spokespersons who answer the public around the clock.

This edited volume treats the synthetic communicator as a single phenomenon across journalism, broadcasting, and public relations. It asks three questions: Who is speaking when AI speaks for us? Do audiences have a right to know the communicator is not human? Who is accountable when the one who errs has no face? The volume brings together theory, empirical research, and practitioner insight, with particular attention to Arab and Global South experiences.

Possible themes include, but are not limited to:

1. Concepts and mapping: typologies, histories, and organizational uses
2. Ethics and accountability: disclosure, consent, voice rights, and responsibility
3. Disinformation: deepfakes and the impersonation of communicators
4. Journalism: AI bylines, automated news, synthetic journalist personas
5. Broadcasting and audio: virtual presenters, voice cloning, automated dubbing
6. Public relations: virtual influencers, AI spokespersons, crisis communication
7. Audiences: trust, credibility, and parasocial bonds
8. Identity and representation: gender, language, culture, and synthetic Arabic voices
9. Regulation and professions: codes, policy, the future of work, media education

Key dates:

• Abstract deadline: 15 December 2026
• Notification of acceptance: 10 January 2027
• Full chapters due: 31 August 2027

Submission guidelines:

Please send a chapter abstract (around 300 words) and a short author biography (around 100 words) to both editors:
samahsaleh2002 /at/ cu.edu.eg
nermeenalazrak /at/ mcomm.cu.edu.eg

Two referees will blindly peer-review full chapters (6,000–7,000 words).

No payment will be required from authors at any stage of the publication process.