CFP: Generative Companionship in the Digital Age: On Human-AI Relationships and the Ethical Landscape Surrounding Artificial Others

Call for Abstracts: Generative Companionship in the Digital Age – On Human-AI Relationships and the Ethical Landscape Surrounding Artificial Others Symposium, IACAP/AISB-25

Symposium: Generative Companionship in the Digital Age: On Human-AI Relationships and the Ethical Landscape Surrounding Artificial Others
Date: 1st – 3rd July 2025
Venue: University of Twente, NL

Symposium Conveners

• Robert Clowes (Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Portugal)
• Kesavan Thanagopal (University of Notre Dame, USA)
• Marianna B. Ganapini (Union College, USA)

Symposium Detail

This symposium is part of the conference on the Philosophy of Computing and AI (https://iacapconf.org/), jointly hosted by the International Association for Computing and Philosophy (IACAP) and the Society for the Study of Artificial Intelligence and Simulation of Behaviour (AISB). While the conference runs for three days, the symposium will be a one-day event.

This symposium is based on the project entitled (Digital) Companionship in the Digital Age, funded by The Notre Dame-IBM Tech Ethics Lab. Details about this project can be found at https://genai-human-relationship.weebly.com/.

Symposium Theme
The symposium will focus on the ethical landscape of AI companionship across four major themes. First, it questions the nature of companionship in an attempt to understand whether the simulated responses of AI companions are ethically problematic. Second, it examines whether AI companions can be viewed as “persons” in a philosophical sense, and considers the moral implications of such a designation. Third, it assesses the ethical responsibilities of app developers when releasing such technology into society. Finally, it investigates whether interactions with AI companions could fundamentally reshape our understanding of human relationships and the ethical significance of such changes.

We are not only looking for philosophers and ethicists who can engage with the philosophical aspects of the issues raised, but also psychologists, sociologists, computer scientists, engineers, and legal and policy experts who can weigh in on these matters and provide valuable insights to guide this philosophical project.

This symposium seeks to address some of the following questions:

• While artificial others can simulate empathy through carefully crafted responses that mimic human-like interactions – sometimes surprisingly well – there is an inherent inauthenticity to such interactions. Does this lead to some kind of self-deception on the part of the user when interacting with their generative companions and would this be morally problematic?
• As users interact with their AI companions, they often begin to anthropomorphise these artificial others, projecting human traits, emotions, and intentions onto them. Should we, in light of our interactions with artificial others, attribute personhood to them whilst admitting that they are not humans? What would ascribing such a status to artificial others entail?
• Can the AI bot be held partially accountable if it had enabled the user to engage in some destructive act, and in what way can it be held accountable if so?
• Software updates to the underlying LLMs can often leave users feeling disconnected from their AI companions. Do such software updates “terminate” the original AI companions? Have we, in particular, harmed the artificial other through such updates? If so, should there be regulations governing the treatment of AI companions, and what would some such regulations be?
• What are some of the ethical obligations that app developers have in the creation and deployment of technology that allows users to generate their personalised artificial others?
• Do human-AI relationships redefine concepts of connection, support, and community in an increasingly digital world? If so, in what ways?
• Are we less likely to form genuine connections with human companions who are likely to disagree with us on a whole range of issues if we start finding the sycophancy of artificial others to be a virtue?

Contributions on other questions relevant to one of the four themes of the symposium are also welcome.

Participation Details
Format: Each presentation will be allocated a 30-minute slot, including Q&A.

Submission Guidelines:

Please submit an anonymised extended abstract of approximately 1000 words (excluding references) to [email protected] the subject line “CfA Submission” by the 15th of March 2025. In a separate title-page document, include the title of your contribution, your name, affiliation, and contact information. Notifications of acceptance will be sent by the 1st of April 2025. A camera-ready copy for the ensuing conference proceeding should be submitted by the 28th of April 2025.

Submission Deadline: 15th of March 2025

Notification of Acceptance: 1st of April 2025

This symposium is supported in whole or in part by The Notre Dame-IBM Tech Ethics Lab. Such support does not constitute endorsement by the sponsor of the views expressed in this symposium.