Mitja Jermol, M.Sc., holds UNESCO Chair in Open Technologies for OERs and Open Education and is Deputy Head of IRCAI at the Jožef Stefan Institute. He works on AI for business intelligence, personalized learning, and smart cities/factories, focusing on knowledge and complex systems. With the University of Nova Gorica he launched Open Education for a Better World and has worked on 30+ RTD projects.

Panagiotis Kapos, PhD, Panteion University (Department of Communication, Media & Culture), and is Vice President of the Hellenic Foundation for Books and Culture (HFBC). Combining research with professional practice, he has been active in the book market, publishing, and cultural sectors since 2005. His research and articles have been published in conference proceedings, academic journals, and books.

Nadim Sadek, holds a degree in Pure Psychology from Trinity College Dublin, and is CEO of Shimmr AI and a recipient of the AI Startup of the Year award in London and Frankfurt. He is the author of Shimmer, Don’t Shake – How Publishing Can Embrace AI and Quiver, Don’t Quake – How Creativity Can Embrace AI. Nadim writes for The Bookseller, delivers global thought leadership on AI, and serves as a Board Advisor to BookBrunch and Sinai AI.

This Special Issue invites researchers to explore the dynamic interplay between AI, media, publishing, culture, education, and society. We seek theoretical, empirical, methodological, and case-study contributions that examine how AI technologies are integrated, adapted, and co-evolved across diverse sociocultural contexts as collaborative partners rather than autonomous tools, addressing:

Emerging Trends and Key Questions

* Hybrid newsrooms where journalists partner with AI systems for enhanced storytelling and analysis.
* Evolution of AI partnership models as institutional frameworks develop.
* Cultural factors shaping collaborative trust, autonomy, and privacy in human-AI partnerships.
* Ethical frameworks for collaborative authorship, attribution, and responsibility.
* Developing collaborative AI literacy across diverse demographics and contexts.
* AI as cultural collaborator: semiotic and psychological dimensions of partnership.
* Socio-cultural AI frameworks for collaborative innovation across sectors.
* Equitable access to collaborative AI capabilities across organizational contexts.
* Policy implications and emerging niches for research funding.

Keywords: artificial intelligence; allied Intelligence¸ socio-cultural AI; collaborative creativity; journalism; publishing; books; reading; media systems; education; AI literacy; cultural identity; ethics; generative AI; semiotics; human–AI collaboration; partnership models; governance; digital transformation; content co-creation; content production; misinformation; autonomous systems; psychological depth; cultural psychology.

We welcome research from media studies, communication, education, cultural studies, psychology, computer science, sociology, and other interdisciplinary fields. Topics may include (but are not limited to):

1. AI literacy and educational transformations

2. AI in journalism, newsrooms, and publishing workflows

3. Cultural identity and societal interpretations of AI

4. Ethical, legal, and intellectual property implications

5. Human–AI collaboration and the reshaping of professional identities

6. Semiotic, psychological, and sociocultural approaches to AI

7. AI governance, policy, and global inequalities in adoption

8. Socio-cultural AI (SCAI) and its implications for industry, society, and academia

Cultural identity shapes how individuals and organizations develop AI partnerships. Individualist and collectivist orientations influence collaboration models, privacy frameworks, and technology integration approaches. From semiotic perspectives, AI functions not merely as a computational tool but as a cultural collaborator participating in meaning-making, knowledge construction, and social communication—what we term “Allied Intelligence.”

The field of Socio-cultural Artificial Intelligence (SCAI) shows rapid growth since 2018, with emerging applications in smart cities, governance, cultural-creative industries, and media. This expansion opens questions about collaborative frameworks, ethical partnership models, cultural variance in human-AI interaction, and policy approaches that support effective integration while respecting diverse contexts.

This Special Issue addresses these opportunities by fostering interdisciplinary dialogue and encouraging contributions that illuminate how AI partnership reshapes human practices, enhances societal structures, and enriches cultural meaning-making through collaboration.

AI in Media & Publishing
1. How are media organizations and publishing houses developing collaborative AI partnerships, and what factors enable successful integration that enhances both human creativity and operational effectiveness?
2. What new collaborative roles, professional identities, and ethical frameworks emerge for publishers, journalists, editors, translators, and content creators partnering with AI?
3. How do evolving institutional frameworks shape the quality, psychological depth, and authenticity of AI-enhanced content production?
4. How can AI partnership adapt to linguistic, cultural, and contextual diversity in global media systems?

AI Partnership in Education & Reading Engagement
5. How can AI partnership enhance teaching, learning, assessment, and curriculum design while preserving human pedagogical judgment?
6. What competencies, literacies, and collaborative frameworks enable educators and learners to effectively partner with AI?
7. How can semiotic, psychological, and cultural theories deepen our understanding of human-AI collaborative learning environments?
8. How can AI partnership create psychologically-attuned reading experiences that deepen engagement and cultivate love for books?

AI Collaboration, Culture & Society
9. In what ways does cultural identity shape individual and collective approaches to AI partnership and collaboration?
10. How do socio-cultural contexts shape the evolution, adaptation, and co-creation of collaborative AI practices?
11. What new forms of collaborative organization, community development, and creative practice emerge through human-AI partnership?

Policy, Governance & Inequality
12. How can we ensure equitable access to collaborative AI capabilities across media, education, and public sectors globally?
13. What policy frameworks can support equitable, ethical, and culturally sensitive AI partnership development?
14. How can SCAI research inform frameworks for governance, collaborative standards, and institutional support?

Call for abstracts: Abstracts (300–500 words) should clearly outline the research focus and relevance to the journal’s scope/pillar, methodology, and interdisciplinary contribution, as well as anticipated findings or implications.

Review of abstracts: A rolling review process will begin during the final weeks of the call. This will allow early submissions to receive feedback promptly. All reviews will be completed within one month of the call’s closing. Selected authors will receive invitations to submit full manuscripts.

Manuscript development window: Authors will be invited to to submit manuscripts between 4,000 and 5,000 words until March 30, 2026. Manuscripts will then undergo peer review. Once authors received their peer reviews, they will have a maximum of 6 weeks to send their final version. The collection will be published in May 2026.

Submit your paper to: info@ircai.org. Please address your submission to Mrs. Senja Požar and include the issue’s title.

For more information, contact the editorial team at info@ircai.org.