Abstract
Science is linguistically hegemonic, and the Information Systems field is no different. For millennia, success in science has required mastery in the ‘language of the day,’ and for the last century, that language has been English. ECIS 2025 is in Jordan and most attendees are not native English speakers, but all the papers and presentations are in English, and everyone treats it as normal. This is repeated across all our field’s major journals and conferences, and across every other science. Surely this is neither fair, nor effective. It only continues because no other option has seemed possible. However, we have reached an historic juncture in science where rapid advances in AI translation tools are allowing us to imagine a multilingual science. Given that the IS field is dedicated to building and understanding information systems to forge a better future, we should grasp this chance to create a better science.
Recommended Citation
Burton-Jones, Andrew, "WHY IS ECIS IN ENGLISH? LET’S CREATE A FAIRER, MORE IMPACTFUL SCIENCE BY USING AI TO MOVE BEYOND ENGLISH LANGUAGE DOMINANCE" (2025). ECIS 2025 Proceedings. 6.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/ecis2025/panels/panels/6
WHY IS ECIS IN ENGLISH? LET’S CREATE A FAIRER, MORE IMPACTFUL SCIENCE BY USING AI TO MOVE BEYOND ENGLISH LANGUAGE DOMINANCE
Science is linguistically hegemonic, and the Information Systems field is no different. For millennia, success in science has required mastery in the ‘language of the day,’ and for the last century, that language has been English. ECIS 2025 is in Jordan and most attendees are not native English speakers, but all the papers and presentations are in English, and everyone treats it as normal. This is repeated across all our field’s major journals and conferences, and across every other science. Surely this is neither fair, nor effective. It only continues because no other option has seemed possible. However, we have reached an historic juncture in science where rapid advances in AI translation tools are allowing us to imagine a multilingual science. Given that the IS field is dedicated to building and understanding information systems to forge a better future, we should grasp this chance to create a better science.
When commenting on articles, please be friendly, welcoming, respectful and abide by the AIS eLibrary Discussion Thread Code of Conduct posted here.