8th AI4Society Symposium: The Future of AI Companions

8th AI4Society Symposium: The Future of AI Companions

Location: Future Africa Campus, University of Pretoria, South Africa

Abstract Submission Deadline: 11/01/2026

Symposium Date: 18/02/2026

Call for Abstracts

You are cordially invited to submit abstracts for the next CAIR/UP AI4Society Symposium scheduled for 18 February 2026. The symposium is a collaboration with the Center for Philosophy of AI (CPAI) at the University of Copenhagen and will take place at the Future Africa Campus, University of Pretoria, South Africa.

Theme: The Future of AI Companions

The symposium aims to explore the risks, opportunities and the ethical, epistemological or societal implications of AI companions, broadly construed. This can include work on AI agents, AI assistants, HCI, computer/data science, ethics of technology or critical theory. 

We welcome submissions from any related discipline, including moral and political philosophy, law, philosophy of technology, HCI, AI governance.

This symposium is jointly organized by Filippos Stamatiou (Center for Philosophy of AI, University of Copenhagen) and Emma Ruttkamp-Bloem (African Institute for Data Science and AI, University of Pretoria and the Centre for AI Research) as part of a symposium series on the societal impact of AI technologies.

Due date for Abstracts: Abstracts of around 500 words should be submitted to [email protected] by January 11, 2026. Acceptance will be communicated a week later.

Presentation slots will be 30 minutes including Q&A.

For additional information you can contact Filippos Stamatiou: [email protected]

Links:

CPAI: https://cpai.ku.dk
African Institute for Data Science and AI: https://www.up.ac.za/afridsai

CAIR: https://www.cair.org.za

UP: https://www.up.ac.za

Future Africa: https://www.future.africa