Prompt

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming various aspects of human life, including the field of writing. With advances in natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning algorithms, AI technologies are increasingly being used to assist and automate various writing tasks, ranging from generating content and editing to evaluating text quality and predicting audience reception. While AI presents exciting opportunities to improve writing processes and outcomes, it also raises critical questions about the nature of writing and its role in communication, as well as the ethical implications of delegating writing tasks to non-human entities.

For this special issue, we invite original research articles, theoretical explorations, and critical essays that examine the intersection of AI and writing from a rhetorical perspective. Potential topics and questions may include, but are not limited to:

1. Theoretical frameworks for understanding the role of AI in writing practices and the implications for rhetorical theory and practice.

2. The use of AI in different stages of the writing process, including pre-writing, drafting, revising, and publishing, and its impact on writer agency, creativity, and collaboration.

3. The effectiveness and limitations of AI tools and algorithms for assessing writing quality, readability, and audience reception, and their implications for the evaluation of writing in academic, professional, and public contexts.

4. The ethical considerations of using AI in writing, such as issues of transparency, accountability, bias, and power dynamics, and their implications for social justice and democratic communication.

5. Comparative analyses of AI and human writing practices in different genres, modes, and cultures, and their implications for cross-cultural communication and understanding.

6. Critical reflections on the challenges and opportunities of integrating AI into writing education and pedagogy, and the implications for the development of writing skills, knowledge, and values.

We welcome submissions from a wide range of disciplines, including rhetoric and composition studies, communication studies, linguistics, computer science, media studies, and cultural studies. Submissions should be original and not under consideration elsewhere, and should follow the guidelines of the journal.

Potential rhetorical approaches that authors may consider in their submissions include, but are not limited to:

• Classical rhetorical theory (e.g., ethos, logos, pathos, invention, arrangement, style)

• Contemporary rhetorical theory (e.g., rhetoric of science and technology, digital rhetoric, visual rhetoric, feminist rhetoric, critical race theory)

• Genre theory and analysis (e.g., discourse communities, rhetorical situations, genre ecologies, affordances and constraints)

• Multimodal and new media theory and analysis (e.g., hypertext, interactivity, user experience, algorithmic culture)

• Critical discourse analysis and critical language studies (e.g., power, ideology, identity, social justice, linguistic diversity)

• Historical and cultural studies of writing and technology (e.g., print culture, literacy, media archaeology, globalization)

We look forward to receiving your submissions and to contributing to the ongoing conversation about the complex relationship between AI and writing from a rhetorical perspective.