The Journal of Artificial Intelligence for Sustainable Development (JAISD) invites submissions for its new collection Artificial Intelligence, Democracy and the Public Interest: Building Resilient Digital Futures.
As artificial intelligence systems become increasingly embedded in public governance, media ecosystems, and civic infrastructures, the imperative to ensure their ethical and democratic alignment grows ever more urgent. This special issue brings together interdisciplinary perspectives and research initiatives that explore how AI can be designed, governed, and deployed in ways that reinforce—not undermine—democractic values, institutional trust, and civic agency.
This special collection assembles interdisciplinary research on how to design, govern, and evaluate AI to serve the public interest and safeguard fundamental human values and rights. We ask: How can algorithmic decisions be made transparent and contestable? Which mechanisms curtail bias, manipulation, and exclusion—especially for marginalized communities? How should citizens, public servants, and civil society participate in the lifecycle of the AI systems that affect them? And how can we measure whether AI actually improves outcomes in health, education, welfare, justice, and media integrity?
Editors:
- Achim Rettinger, Full Professor and leader of the department Computational Linguistics and Digital Humanities, Trier University, Germany
- Tanja Zdolsek Draksler, Researcher at Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Maribor; Researcher at the International Research Centre on AI under the Auspices of UNESCO, Jožef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia
- George Manias, Assistant Professor at Tilburg University, The Netherlands; Research Associate at University of Piraeus, Greece
Topics of Interest Include:
- Fairness, bias, and non-discrimination
- Trustworthiness, Safety, and Accountability
- Democratic Governance & Regulation
- Participation & Co-Design
- Media Integrity, Literacy & Information Ecosystems
- Public Services & Social Outcomes
- Data Governance & Privacy
- Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications (ELSI)
- Evaluation, Benchmarks, and Methods
Key Dates
Paper submission deadline: December 31, 2025
Publication date: April 2026
Submissions
Please send your full papers (4000–5000 words) to info@ircai.org, addressed to JAISD Editorial Team or Mrs. Senja Požar and indicate the title of this issue.For more information about the call and full submission guidelines, please refer to the Issues page.