ChatGPT, LaMDA, and the Hype Around Communicative AI: The Automation of Communication as a Field of Research in Media and Communication Studies

Authors

Andreas Hepp, University of Bremen, GermanyFollow
Wiebke Loosen, Hans-Bredow-Institut Hamburg, GermanyFollow
Stephan Dreyer, Hans-Bredow-Institut Hamburg, GermanyFollow
Juliane Jarke, University of Graz, AustriaFollow
Sigrid Kannengießer, University of Münster, GermanyFollow
Christian Katzenbach, University of Bremen, GermanyFollow
Rainer Malaka, University of Bremen, GermanyFollow
Michaela Pfadenhauer, University of Vienna, AustriaFollow
Cornelius Puschmann, University of Bremen, GermanyFollow
Wolfgang Schulz, Hans-Bredow-Institut Hamburg, GermanyFollow

Abstract

The aim of this article is to more precisely define the field of research on the automation of communication, which is still only vaguely discernible. The central thesis argues that to be able to fully grasp the transformation of the media environment associated with the automation of communication, our view must be broadened from a preoccupation with direct interactions between humans and machines to societal communication. This more widely targeted question asks how the dynamics of societal communication change when communicative artificial intelligence—in short: communicative AI—is integrated into aspects of societal communication. To this end, we recommend an approach that follows the tradition of figurational sociology.

DOI

10.30658/hmc.6.4

Author ORCID Identifier

Andreas Hepp:0000-0001-7292-4147

Wiebke Loosen: 0000-0002-2211-2260

Stephan Dreyer: 0000-0002-9450-1193

Juliane Jarke: 0000-0001-8349-2298

Sigrid Kannengießer: 0000-0002-2342-9868

Christian Katzenbach: 0000-0003-1897-2783

Rainer Malaka: 0000-0001-6463-4828

Michaela Pfadenhauer: 0000-0002-6082-0364

Cornelius Puschmann: 0000-0002-3189-0662

Wolfgang Schulz: 0000-0002-9999-5508

Recommended Citation

Hepp, A., Loosen, W., Dreyer, S., Jarke, J., Kannengießer, S., Katzenbach, C., Malaka, R., Pfadenhauer, M., Puschmann, C., & Schulz, W. (2023). ChatGPT, LaMDA, and the hype around communicative AI: The automation of communication as a field of research in media and communication studies. Human-Machine Communication, 6, 41-63. https://doi.org/10.30658/hmc.6.4