The Gig Public

For properly understanding today's -ffentlichkeit one needs to read Slavko Splichal's works. Splichal has over decades made key contributions to the critical analysis of publicness. His new work analyses publicness in the age of AI. He shows how driven by digital capitalism, surveillance and AI, the emerging gig public colonises the reasoned public. An excellent and highly insightful book that is an essential reading for everyone wanting to critically understand the society we live in. - Professor Christian Fuchs, author of Digital Capitalism; Social Media: A Critical Introduction; and Media, Economy and Society: A Critical Introduction.

Democracies are secured by citizens openly deliberating on government decisions and policies based on the verifiable information, comprehensive analysis and rigorous questioning provided by the public media. In this brilliant intervention, organised around an instantly memorable metaphor, Slavko Splichal explores what happens when the press and broadcasting are replaced by online platforms assembling temporary, mutable audiences for political performances where deliberation is trumped by presentation and presentation and interaction are increasing organised by artificial intelligence. Grounded in an unrivalled knowledge of European writings on publics and publicness, often missed or misunderstood in Anglo-American analysis, his interrogation of the current transformation and its possible futures is an essential reading for anyone concerned about the future of deliberative democracy. - Graham Murdock, Emeritus Professor of Culture and Economy, Institute for Creative Futures, Loughborough University, London, UK.

Splichal has written a sweeping, incisive and learned book about the changing conditions of publicity and influence in the digital society. His notion of 'gig public' deserves close attention. It perceptively captures essential dynamics of contemporary public life - fragmentation, performativity and ephemeral visibility and engagement, shaped by the domination of digital corporations and algorithmic logic. - Silvio Waisbord, Professor in the School of Media and Public Affairs at George Washington University.

Slavko Splichal offers an important conceptual contribution by introducing the concept of the gig public to make sense of contemporary shifts in understanding publicness, the public and public sphere in a society increasingly dominated by platforms and AI. In doing so, he also points to ways to reinvigorate democratic empowerment and strengthen publicness. - Bart Cammaerts, London School of Economics and Political Science.

This is a much-needed critical discussion of generative AI's power and impact on public communication and democratic participation. While the academic community is still reeling from the sudden availability of AI applications for public and professional use, Slavko Splichal begins to think systematically about how to make sense of the emerging forms of publicness illustrating the radical shift from newspaper readers to gig publics and raising awareness of the far-reaching implications for democracy. - Hans-JO§rg Trenz, Professor of Sociology of Culture and Communication, Scuola Normale Superiore, Department of Political and Social Sciences, Palazzo Strozzi, Piazza degli Strozzi, 50123 Firenze Italy.

Adroitly articulated and keenly observed, Professor Splichal's timely book is a sobering account of the changing nature of 'publicness' in an age of AI.' -Daya Thussu, Professor of International, Communication, Hong Kong Baptist University