NEW! Best Paper Award
Despite what the name suggests, the journal of Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, does not actually publish many papers that combine these two fields; and we want to change that! Hence, we’re delighted that Palgrave Macmillan is offering a £200 best paper award for papers that do just that; thoroughly bridge the bodies of knowledge in place branding and public diplomacy.
The competition applies to papers published in the journal of Place Branding and Public Diplomacy online first in or before 2022 (i.e. papers submitted this year or early next year). The award will be granted in 2023.
CALL FOR PAPERS
The End of Diplomacy? ChatGPT, Generative AI and the Future of Digital Diplomacy
Lord Palmerston, a British Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary, famously exclaimed, "My God, this is the end of diplomacy!" when he received the first telegraph cable in 1860. Similar concerns have been raised in recent months following the consecutive launch of generative AI chatbots such as ChatGPT or image driven AI such as Midjourney.
Generative AI, with its ability to create new content such as text, images, audio, video, or code based on existing data, offers new opportunities and challenges for diplomacy. It can aid diplomats in crafting and maintaining their online presence, shaping press releases and speeches, preparing negotiation materials, and developing public diplomacy and strategic communication campaigns. However, on the negative side, Generative AI could also be misused to fabricate fake or misleading content that can undermine the credibility and trustworthiness of diplomats, complicate crises through the dissemination of counterfeit images of war crimes or alleged military victories, and pose risks or threats to the security and confidentiality of the negotiation process and outcomes. Moreover, such content could be used to undermine a nation’s credibility and harm its international image or brand.
This special Forum of Place Branding and Public Diplomacy edited by C Bjola (Oxford University) and I Manor (Ben Gurion University) seeks to examine the impact of generative AI on diplomacy. The Forum seeks to understand the different diplomatic functions that may be disrupted by such technologies, as well as the mechanisms necessary to contend with such disruption. Our goal is to understand whether generative AI will facilitate the end of diplomacy or serve as just another form of disruption bringing with it new risks and opportunities. We invite papers that focus on topics such as:
• How can Generative AI improve diplomatic representation, negotiation, crisis communication, and/or public diplomacy, and what specific benefits does it offer?
• What risks does Generative AI pose for diplomacy, and to what extent can these risks be mitigated?
• What implications does Generative AI have for multilateral diplomacy, and how can international organizations leverage this new technology for their advantage?
• How does Generative AI impact the roles and skills of diplomats and other stakeholders in diplomacy?
• How might Generative AI influence the norms, values, and principles of diplomacy, and what potential changes may arise as a result?
We welcome empirical, theoretical, and methodological papers that address these or related questions from various disciplines and perspectives. We encourage papers that adopt interdisciplinary, comparative, or critical approaches, as well as papers that present original data, case studies or applications of Generative AI in diplomacy.
The deadline for submitting abstracts (200 words) is June 15, 2023. Responses will be sent by June 30. The deadline for submitting full papers (2500 words excluding references) is Sept 15, 2023. Papers will be subject to a peer review process. The Forum is expected to be published in late 2023. Please send your abstracts to the following address: manor.ilan@gmail.com
