CfP: The Digital Orientalist’s Virtual Conference 2025

The convenors are pleased to announce that The Digital Orientalist’s Virtual Conference 2025 will be held on 31 May 2025. In 2021, we switched from a Twitter (currently X) conference format to a full-day Zoom event, dedicated to the discussion of digital research methods and ongoing projects. Building on the success of previous conferences and their proceedings, we created the new role of Conference Manager and Editor this year, welcoming Hirohito TSUJI to this post.

This year’s conference will focus on “AI and the Digital Humanities for the Study of Asia, Africa, and Oceania.” Researchers are increasingly integrating AI into their work, and AI technologies are expanding the digital humanist’s toolkit. This opens up new possibilities but also presents new challenges. For example, AI is often unsuitable for clarifying unknowns, it often takes significant time and effort to improve its accuracy, and human verification often remains essential. Additionally, numerous ethical implications arise, including the need to determine the authenticity of material and data created or processed by AI technologies. How do we address with these possibilities and challenges as they pertain to our work in Asian, African, and Oceanic studies? Does the integration of AI pose possibilities or challenges unique to our fields? How are researchers implementing AI within their projects? These are just some of the questions we are interested in engaging with at this year’s conference.

For The Digital Orientalist’s Virtual Conference 2025 we welcome papers relating to AI and digital humanities within the study of Asia, Africa, and Oceania broadly, but are particularly interested in the following strands:

Institutional organisation of/around DH and AI
Topics include, but are not limited to: Institutional support and organisation of DH projects using AI technology, teaching AI skills for humanities, AI’s role in the academic job market.

DH research design with AI
Topics include, but are not limited to: Structuring DH research with AI, possibilities and limitations of research with AI, AI and citizen science.

AI and language
Topics include, but are not limited to: The significance and challenges of AI translation, AI tools for text recognition and transcription of historical texts, AI-based digital dictionary compilation, phonological analysis and linguistic modelling using AI.

AI and cultural heritage
Topics include, but are not limited to: Reconstruction of historical landscapes and geographical information with AI, AI-assisted library service support tools for librarians, AI-assisted museum exhibitions, reproduction of archaeological sites and archaeological materials with AI, AI and visual arts, AI analysis for audio-visual materials.

DH, AI and ethics
Topics include, but are not limited to: AI bias, the transparency of AI, safety concerns, the influence of AI on education and research.

We are also interested in submissions pertaining to new and ongoing digital humanities projects more generally, digital humanities in practice, workflow, etc.

Submission

Please submit your 250-word abstract here by 31 March 2025. Accepted presenters will be asked to submit a draft of their paper (no more than 5 double-spaced pages) or a PowerPoint format by 24 May 2025.

Format

The conference will be held in Zoom on 31 May 2025 (we will finalize the program in later stages, depending on the location of presenters). Each presenter will be allocated a 20-minute time slot. After each session, there will be time for some Q&A and discussion. Please note that the event will be recorded, and will be made available for online sharing pending presenters’ consent. The conference is conducted in English only.

Address inquiries to the Editorial Team: digitalorientalist[at]gmail.com