Call for Papers: Digital Age in Semiotics and Communication, Vol. IX (2026) – Artificial VS Natural Creativity: semiotic and interdisciplinary perspective
CALL FOR PAPERS
Digital Age in Semiotics and Communication, Vol. IX (2026)
Artificial VS Natural Creativity: semiotic and interdisciplinary perspective
We invite researchers and practitioners to contribute to the ninth issue of Digital Age in Semiotics and Communication, devoted to the theme AI vs Natural Creativity
This volume aims to explore the rapidly evolving landscape of creativity and creative labor in the age of Artificial Intelligence from both theoretical-semiotic and interdisciplinary-applied perspectives.
Two primary directions frame the call:
- The semiotic analysis of creativity — examining how creativity functions as a textual and cultural strategy in AI-driven content interpretation and generation.
- The implications for creative practice and labor — considering how automation reshapes the professional and existential realities of creative workers.
As AI technologies increasingly permeate artistic and cultural production — from writing and visual arts to design, media, and performance — creative professionals face unprecedented challenges to their roles and technique. The tendency of AI systems to replace rather than augment human creativity raises pressing ethical, social, and legal questions.
We invite critical and interdisciplinary contributions that engage with the following questions:
- Can machines replicate the nuanced, context-dependent, and affective dimensions of human creativity?
- What is lost when artistic and intellectual labor is devalued or displaced by automated systems?
- How can we reaffirm the irreplaceability of human creativity as a cornerstone of a democratic and pluralistic cultural sphere?
We particularly welcome papers that study AI creativity, assess the intrinsic and societal value of creative work, explore the transformation of labor markets under AI-driven automation, and propose conceptual, ethical, or policy frameworks to safeguard and empower human creativity in the digital era.
Suggested Topics
Contributions may address, but are not limited to, the following areas:
Theoretical Foundations of Creativity
- Semiotic, philosophical, and epistemological perspectives on creativity
- Creativity as interpretation, innovation, and cultural mediation
Creative Practice and Reflection
- Practice-based and autoethnographic studies of creativity
- Case studies of artistic collaboration with AI
AI and Creative Processes
- AI-assisted creativity and human–machine co-authorship
- Creativity from the perspectives of AI design, data, and computer science
Legal and Ethical Dimensions
- Intellectual property and authorship in AI-generated works
- Ethical implications of automated creativity and cultural production
Business and Social Impact
- Management and innovation in creative industries
- AI, entrepreneurship, and the transformation of creative labor
AI in Education and Analysis
- AI for creative learning, research, and pedagogy
- Semiotic analysis of AI-created texts, images, and performances
This call is aligned with the activities of the ERUA Research cluster “Artificial Intelligence and Creative Industry Employment Disruption (AICIED)”
—————————————————————————————————————–
Deadline for the abstracts (200-300 words): 31 December 2025;
Deadline for full papers: 30 May 2026;
Deadline for the final revised papers: 1 October 2026;
Publication: December 2026
For more information and submission of abstracts and papers: DigitASC@nbu.bg
Digital Age in Semiotics & Communication is a journal by the Southeast European Center for Semiotic Studies at the New Bulgarian University: https://semiotics.nbu.bg/en/digitasc
The working languages of the journal is English.
This journal uses double-blind review, which means that both the reviewer and author identities are concealed from the reviewers, and vice versa, throughout the review process.
The journal will be published by New Bulgarian University Publishing House.
Editor-in-chief: Prof. Kristian Bankov; Editors for this issue: Prof. Kristian Bankov, Dr. Federico Biggio