Toward ‘Strategic Communication Literacy’

Situating the Concept within Crisis Communication Scholarship amid AI-Exacerbated Mega-Crises

Abstract

This contribution situates the proposed concept of “strategic communication literacy” (SCL) within the field of strategic crisis communication, particularly as it applies amid mega-crises. We postulate that it is vital to define and advance a type of literacy initiative that encompasses communication knowledge and skills among a range of stakeholders, including those who are marginalized. SCL aims to empower stakeholders to participate in efforts to mitigate risks that spiral toward mega-crises, as well as to contribute to structural changes necessary to counter mega-crises, which are the grand challenges faced globally that undermine human well-being, security, and the natural environment. In the contemporary era, AI represents a technological field that exacerbates existing mega-crises but also potentially introduces new security risks. Accordingly, we use AI-exacerbated mega-crises as the primary cases to illustrate our central arguments about SCL. We outline how SCL overlaps with, yet remains distinct from, media literacy and AI literacy. SCL can be further enriched by insights from communication frameworks such as the culture-centered approach. While elevating SCL represents one pathway to strengthening culture-centered voice infrastructures in terms of marginalized stakeholders’ agency, the need for organizational and political change at a structural level is paramount and will require a broad coalition capable of enacting change at the large scale where mega-crises arise. Hence, within the ongoing quest to define and refine the key components of SCL, an inclusive and interdisciplinary approach is absolutely fundamental. Furthermore, we propose a research agenda to refine the concept of SCL and assess its relevance in relation to broader categories of mega-crises.