In recent years, the convergence of digital media and AI has generated transformative changes in how specialised communication is disseminated. While much attention has been paid to AI’s growing capabilities, less attention has been given to the different forms of specialised communication emerging between AI systems and digital media platforms themselves.
It is well recognised that AI has become a significant resource in highly specialised discursive domains – law, medicine, economics, finance, engineering, tourism and beyond – where English for Specific Purposes (ESP) plays a central communicative role. AI now writes, among others, medical summaries, translates legal documents, generates business emails, and composes educational materials and academic texts. Digital media platforms host, distribute, and often refine this output, further shaping the way specialised knowledge is disseminated. Yet what remains under-theorised is the quality, reliability, and impact of these emergent interactions. How do these systems shape domain-specific knowledge? In what way genres (academic and professional) are being simplified, distorted, or transformed?
The intersection of ESP, digital media and AI communication is an area of study that requires new frameworks, interdisciplinary methods, and scholarly dialogue. This seminar intends to provide a platform for research that incorporates innovative approaches and methods for interrogating these issues.