Call for Abstracts

Intersections of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Community Well-Being

Special Issue of the International Journal of Community Well-Being

Intersections of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Community Well-Being: Perspectives is a special issue of the International Journal of Community Well-Being. The issue aims to help community organizers, academics, researchers, instructors, policy makers, business people, administrators, governmental and nongovernmental staff, understand the implications of AI for community well-being. A secondary aim is for readers to gain insights, ideas, and resources to work on a future where AI contributes to community well-being, the good of humans, and the planet through community-based platforms.

Full articles to be submitted by February 1, 2020.

Editors for the Special Issue are:

  • Bogdana Rakova, Research Fellow, Partnership on AI, bobi@partnershiponai.org
  • Laura Musikanski, Happiness Alliance, International Journal of Community Well-Being Editorial Board Member, laura@happycounts.org
  • Nick DePalma, PhD, Facebook AI, ndepalma@alum.mit.edu
  • Andrew Smart, PhD, Google, andrewsmart@google.com
  • James Bradbury, PhD, Happiness Alliance, current and retired from Los Alamos National Laboratory, jnbrad71@gmail.com
  • Margaret E. Manson, PhD, Independent Researcher, mmanson174@gmail.com
  • Rhonda G Phillips, Dean of the Purdue Honors College, phill132@purdue.edu
  • John C. Havens, Executive Director of IEEE Ethically Aligned Design, john.havens.us@ieee.org
  • Lani Fraizer, PhD, Co-chair Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing Conference, 2018, dr@lani.io

For questions, please write to: IJCWB@happycounts.org

We look forward to your response and welcome your ideas and thoughts about the special issue!

About the Journal

International Journal of Community Well-Being is a Springer publication established in 2019. The journal is peer reviewed and double-blind to meet the highest academic standards. This journal advances the knowledge and practice of community well-being as an interdisciplinary broad conception of human and societal well-being. The focus is predominately on communities of place and interest within geographic or societal spaces concerning social, economic, cultural/social, environmental or political conditions and impacts on societal and social well-being. It provides an outlet for excellent scholarship from a multitude of disciplines - including but not limited to community development, geography, urban and regional planning, economic development, public administration, regional studies, sociology, community learning and education, psychology and health – concerned with community well-being that promotes understanding of its multidimensional aspects. It explores the collective aspects of communities and regions and how individual well-being is related to the context of societal well-being. Access to the journal is open and free for two years.

Artificial intelligence and its relation to community well-being is a new research area. Submissions should build upon existing research theories, but also broaden the theoretical settings of academic and popular understanding of the intercepts of AI and community well-being. Where theoretical settings and frameworks are missing, submissions should suggest such. Where they exist, submissions should analyze them, identify where more is needed, where the voids are, what is ignored, and what has been gained from the analysis. For example, submissions can contemplate AI and community well-being in a systems approach and identify leverage points within systems and organizational structures. Moreover, submissions should include implications and recommendations for practitioners, when appropriate. The special issue addresses the following three questions:

  • What well-being frameworks do we need in order to guide the development, deployment and/or operations of AI-systems for the benefit of humanity? How do they allow communities to participate? What could the history of communities around the world teach us about AI? What type of opportunities are there that AI could help us benefit from and how? Submissions may focus on the development of well-being frameworks that have been issued or are in development to guide AI for the benefit of humanity such as indicators, guidelines, practices, codes of conduct, standards, regulations, and their relevance to community well-being. Submission on this topic should focus on frameworks that are based on a wide definition of well-being, such as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Better Life Index, United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Indicators, Eurostat Quality of Life (8+1) indicators, or United Kingdom Office of National Statistics National Indicators of National Well-Being. Submissions can include analysis, assessment of and suggestions for the engagement and involvement of communities. It should include an assessment of the impacts on community well-being. It is preferred that the article include recommendations or examples for community organizers and members to use or follow for engagement in the development of the framework or frameworks.

  • How can AI protect community well-being from threats (climate change, economic inequality, gender inequality, interference with the democratic process, mental illness, etc)? Submissions should focus on a specific threats. Submissions should include an assessment and implications of a particular threat to community well-being, humanity and the planet, and the means with what type of AI can aid or frustrate community well-being in the face of that threat. Submissions should analyse specific initiatives, programs, policies or other efforts underway to address threats to community or society, and an analysis of implications at the community level. It is preferred that the article includes recommendations or examples for community-based approaches to AI as a means to mitigate or protect communities from a threat.

  • How is the use of AI in itself a threat to community well-being? What can a community do to mitigate, manage or negate the threat? Threats may include unemployment, income inequality, psychological well-being (e.g. sense of purpose), safety, human rights violations, etc. Submissions should focus on specific threat or group of threats. Submissions should include an assessment and implications of threats to community well-being, humanity and the planet, and the research and initiatives that aim to address the challenges, and an analysis of implications at the community level. It is preferred that the article includes recommendations or examples for community-based approaches to mitigate or protect community well-being.

  • Of particular note, the Journal of Community Well-Being defines community as “communities of place and interest within geographic or societal spaces concerning social, economic, cultural/social, environmental or political conditions and impacts on societal and social well-being” (see About this Journal).

Submit Your Abstract

To submit an article in the special issue, you need to write a short abstract first. Your abstract should include:

  • Proposed title;
  • Abstract of your article, which does not have more than 500 words;
  • Keywords indicating the area of intersection between AI and Community Well-Being;
  • Format - APA 6th Edition;
  • Your contact information;
  • Short ½ page biography for each author;
  • The type of full article that you will be submitting if your abstract is accepted (perspective, case, overview, or original - please see description below);

Only abstracts that clearly state the connection and implications of AI for community well-being will be considered. Abstracts may be based on theoretical or practical concepts, projects, etc. Authors are invited from around the globe, providing a variety of processes, practices, and perspectives. Submissions are encouraged in the form of perspective articles and case articles. All submissions must be in APA 6th Edition. All submissions must include APA references references in APA 6th Edition. Submissions based purely on opinion will not be accepted. See submission options below.

There are four different types of full articles that are accepted: (see Instructions For Authors)

Perspective article - presents concepts, frameworks, theory or ideas, or review of a concept. These articles can range from a minimum of 5000 words to a maximum of 10,000. If the article is in the form of an essay, it can be shorter at a minimum of 2500 words to around 5000 typically or can range to a longer essay of up to 10,000 words.

Case article - provides findings and summary of a program, project, or application. It must provide background, and relation to larger context, in other words, it must have relevance for others beyond the case. Typical article word length is approximately 7500 words, with a minimum of 5000 and a maximum of 10,000.

Overview article - analysis of existing literature and/or data, whether a literature review, meta-analysis/content analysis. Typical article word length is approximately 7500 words, with a minimum of 5000 and a maximum of 10,000.

Original research article - includes research question/hypothesis, methods/research approach, background or context, results with analysis and interpretation, and conclusion and/or implications for research or practice. Can use quantitative, qualitative, or mixed-methods. Typical article word length is approximately 7500 words, with a minimum of 5000 and a maximum of 10,000.

All articles should include a short introduction or literature review that explains the intersection being addressed of community well-being and the topic of the submission.

Important Dates

Deadline for abstracts:
September 22, 2019

Deadline for articles:
February 1, 2020

Anticipated publication date is Summer of 2020.

Submissions

Decisions will be sent by September 30, 2019.

For questions, please write to: IJCWB@happycounts.org


We look forward to your response and welcome your ideas and thoughts about the special issue!