Book Review: Research Handbook on Artificial Intelligence and Communication

Introduction

Artificial intelligence (AI) has increasingly attracted academic interest within the field of communication and beyond, as it becomes a ubiquitous part of daily life through tools like search engines, voice recognition technology, mobile news applications, and chatbots (like ChatGPT). While there is a wealth of scholarship examining the relationship between AI and communication, this emerging area largely lacks exploration in terms of conceptual, theoretical, and methodological frameworks, as well as ethical, legal, practical, and policy concerns. The Research Handbook on Artificial Intelligence and Communication encompasses a diverse collection of studies on the “communication by, with, and about AI” from interdisciplinary and international perspectives. The topics covered are extensive, focusing on AI-enhanced, immersed, mediated, and integrated forms of communication. This book is divided into five parts.

Part 1, “Mapping Research on Artificial Intelligence and Communication”, includes Chapter 1 through Chapter 5. Chapter 1 presents A systematic review of scholarship in AI and communication research. Research on AI and communication was limited in the early 1990s but has seen a notable increase in recent years (Mohamed, Khanan, Bashir, Mohamed, Adiel, & Elsadig, 2024). An analysis of 197 articles sourced from communication journals in the Web of Science database between 1990 and 2022 indicates a surge in publications focusing on “artificial intelligence and communication,” rising from four articles in 2017 to 65 articles in 2021. By the end of the first quarter of the year, thirty articles had already been published. The studies predominantly employ qualitative, quantitative, or mixed-methods approaches. Analysis shows a substantial international presence with 70 articles from various countries. The research identifies ten key areas of focus and highlights significant contributions by key scholars. The study concludes with a discussion on limitations and suggestions for future research directions.

Traditionally, technology in computer-mediated communication primarily served as a mediator or was under the control of its creator. However, people have recently observed a shift in the role of computers where they are no longer considered neutral (Bessière, Kiesler, & Kraut, 2008). To explore the evolving role of computers in communication in light of technological advancements, Chapter 2 conducted a critical review of literature to examine how scholars have redefined the roles of computers, especially AI, in communication. The authors present an overview of the emerging terminology used to describe AI's involvement in communication, along with a framework categorizing the presence of computers in communication based on the roles played by computers and humans. Additionally, this chapter addresses the challenges researchers encounter when computers are integrated into communication processes rather than solely mediating them.

In accordance with the principles and concept of human-machine communication (HMC) research, individuals are now frequently engaging in organic dialogues and interactions with AI in the guise of digital social agents in their daily routines (Kuo, & Sato, 2020). Chapter 3 aims to contribute to the field of HMC by offering a methodology for a more comprehensive examination of HMC and the processes of meaning-making between humans and machines. Through investigating the interactions of digital social agents as social entities, the agency exhibited by machines, the connection between actor network theory and methodology, and the justification for interviewing digital social agents and evaluating their communication, an argument is presented for a novel HMC methodology: the human-machine interview. This approach to methodology offers a way to collect the necessary data, insights, and research to study and evaluate the effects of HMC and the functions of digital social agents within sociotechnical systems.