CFP: AI Friends and Companions: The Ethics of Human-AI Relationships

Call for Papers

The Ethics of Human-AI Relationships: AI Friends and Companions

Edited by Sara Bizarro (LSU New Orleans)

This Call for Submissions is for a volume in the new Philosophy of Artificial Intelligence series to be published by Brill.

We are accepting chapter proposals.

The Ethics of Human-AI Relationships: AI Friends and Companions will be a volume examining philosophical questions regarding relationships with AI. Philosophical questions such as what sort of entity can be considered a “friend” and whether AI can be such an entity and questions about how relationships between humans and can affect human agency, flourishing and social life. The book chapters will propose a series of different perspectives on this, including a critique of considering AI companionship as exploitative or conceptually incoherent, defenses of limited engagement with AI; considering relationships with AI as categorical mistakes; and reconsidering human AI interaction from the perspective of human flourishing, using virtue ethics, contractually theories of friendships and neo-pragmatism. The book will be a collection of different views on how to conceptualize the relationships between humans and AI and essays exploring the Ethical implications of such relationships.

Topics of interest include (but are not limited to):

•       The possibility and limits of human-AI friendship

•       Epistemic trust, testimony, and misplaced authority in interactions with AI

•       Virtue ethics and human flourishing in relation to AI companionship

•       The moral status and welfare of AI systems

•       Risks of dependency, manipulation, or “hostile scaffolding” in companion AI design

•       AI companionship in care contexts (healthcare, aging, isolation)

•       Political and social dimensions of human-AI relationships

How to Submit

Please send an abstract (300–500 words) and a short biographical statement to Sara Bizarro at [email protected] by September 30, 2026. We'll aim to notify authors by October 15, 2026. As with the volume's current chapters, everything at this stage is provisional and abstracts can evolve as the chapter develops.

A Few More Details, for Your Planning

•       Chapters should be between 6,000 and 8,000 words, though this is not set in stone.

•       Brill uses theChicago Manual of Style.

•       Submissions go through anonymized peer review; please send a separate sheet with your submission with no identifying factors.

•       Please also review Brill'sAI use guidelinesbefore submitting.

Proposed Timeline

•       Abstract submission deadline: September 30, 2026

•       Notification of acceptance: October 15, 2026

•       First full draft due: December 1, 2026

•       Feedback returned: January 15, 2027

•       Revised chapters due back: March 1, 2027

•       Peer review window: March – May 2027

•       Final revisions due back: June 15, 2027

•       Manuscript compiled/formatted/indexed: June 15 – July 15, 2027

•       Delivered to Brill: August 1, 2027

Questions are welcome any time; feel free to reach out to me directly at [email protected].

Please share this call with anyone you think might be a good fit for the volume.

Best,

Sara Bizarro, Ph.D.

Editor, The Ethics of Human-AI Relationships: AI Friends and Companions

Department of History & Philosophy, LSU New Orleans