Communication in a Challenged World: From Division to Connection
Across contemporary societies and geographies, communication has become simultaneously a force for fragmentation and a potential instrument of repair. Deepening polarization, the erosion of shared epistemic foundations, and the uneven distribution of digital infrastructure are reshaping the conditions under which public discourse occurs with consequences for democratic participation, institutional trust, and social cohesion both in Switzerland and worldwide.
Digital transformations, accelerated by rapid advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and related technologies, have intensified these dynamics by widening existing inequalities and perpetuating a sense of uncertainty and precariousness. Within Western democracies, disinformation and conspiracy narratives have been spreading with unprecedented speed across platforms, undermining the informed deliberation that democratic systems require. Meanwhile, the authority of traditional media and journalism continues to erode as authoritarian models of governance are gaining traction globally.
Yet, divisions also create openings and opportunities both for traditional communication actors (e.g., journalistic media or educational institutions) and new ones (e.g., human and AI-powered influencers). In the case of Switzerland, which is one of the world’s leading hubs of AI-driven technological innovation, the technological transformations—and societal changes amplified by them—offer a unique possibility to explore how communication-related shifts bring not only harm but also good by fostering new forms of public debate and political participations, bridging group divides, and identifying new standards and principles for different forms of communication.
This conference is organized around the belief that communication research can not only pinpoint these ongoing societal challenges but also bring forward opportunities to bridge divides. We are calling on scholars to tackle these questions, among others, with rigorous research and ideas.
