Remembering the history and constructing peace communication in the age of AI
The Asia-Pacific Communication Forum 2025 (APCF2024), with the theme “Memory, Narrative and Truth: Global Journalism & & Reiterating Peace Communication in the Age of AI” was successfully concluded on August 17, 2025 in Macao. The conference, which was jointly hosted by the Asia-Pacific Communication and Exchange Association (APCEA), the Centre for Macau Studies (CMS), the University of Macau and the School of Communication of East China Normal University, was attended by nearly 100 scholars and graduate students from China, especially from the Greater Bay Area (GBA), and the Asia-Pacific region.
On the occasion of the international commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the victory in the anti-fascist war, the conference focused on how the concepts of memory, narrative and truth can be redefined in the age of artificial intelligence and promote innovation and development of peace communication in the context of globalisation.
Professor Agnes Lam, Director of CMS, and Dr Wendy Huang, Executive Director of APCEA, each gave an opening speech to welcome the participants who had travelled from far and wide to Macao.
During the keynote session in the morning of August 16, Shuhua Zhou, Chair of the Department of Media and Communication, the City University of Hong Kong, started with the concept of the uncanny valley. The factors that influence the perception of AI communicators were explained in detail. Professor Peter Schulz, Director of the Institute for Communication and Health at the University of Lugano, Switzerland, focused on updating beliefs in the age of AI, specifically examining the role of ChatGPT in correcting misinformation in the healthcare field. Prof Kanokporn Numtong, a well-known sinologist and Deputy Dean of Administration, the School of Humanities, Kasetsart University of Thailand, presented the history and current situation of translation and dissemination of Chinese classics, martial arts novels and modern literature in Thailand. Professor Zeng Yiguo, Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Journalism and Communication at Jinan University, emphasised cultural communication in the Greater Bay Area (GBA). He suggested redefining the GBA beyond the boundary of geographical space and creating the concept of an open and cultural GBA to build a fluid, negotiated and innovative GBA communication. Dr Richard Xu, Associate Professor and Deputy Head of the Department of Communication at Beijing Normal-Hong Kong Baptist University, explored the phenomenon of the Pop-Mart trend and how it commercialises the emotions of Generation Z. Athena SENG, Executive Director of the Macao Association of Internet Research (MAIR), showed how AI can support data research and unleash the potential of insights and innovation.
Almost 100 scholars and graduate students from renowned universities in the field of communication from home and abroad took part in the forum. Participants discussed a wide range of topics, including communication--temporal-spatial contexts and social practises, cultural identity and narrative construction, public discourse and information conflict, communication and social behaviour, cultural communication, symbolic meaning and social governance, Southeast Asian cultural communication in the new era, frontiers of AI and communication, and so on.
In addition, the forum organised a methodological workshop on AI-powered big data analysis The workshop introduced DiVoMiner, a data platform developed in Macao, and explained how it can be used for scientific and efficient content analysis. The five best contributions were selected and honoured with the “Bes Paper Prize”, which was provided by the academic research platform DiVoMiner.
The forum’s collaborative partners included MAIR and the Asia-Pacific Communication Forum Alliance (Macao), Great Bay Express and Macao Cultural Tourism News.
Group photo of Asia-Pacific Communication Forum 2025
