Artificial Companionship as Communication Infrastructure
Doktor-Ignaz-Seipel-Platz 2
Vienna 1010
Austria
Sponsor(s):
- University of Vienna, Department of Social Ethics
- University of Applied Sciences St. Pölten
- German Communication Association (DGPuK), Section Communication and Media Ethics
- Interdisciplinary Media Ethics Centre
- Media Ethics Network
Organisers:
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Call for Papers: Artificial Companionship as Communication Infrastructure
Vienna, 17–19 February 2027
Conference language: German
Submission deadline: 15 September 2026
Generative AI systems are increasingly used not merely as tools but addressed as advisers, tutors, confidants, companions, or communicative counterparts. This raises philosophical and ethical questions concerning agency, responsibility, trust, autonomy, attribution, and changing human–technology relations.
The 2027 Annual Conference of the German-speaking Network Media Ethics (Netzwerk Medienethik), entitled
“Artificial Companionship als Kommunikationsinfrastruktur – Medienethische Implikationen von KI-Partnerschaft und Öffentlichkeit”
invites philosophical, ethical, and interdisciplinary contributions addressing topics such as:
– philosophical and ethical concepts of artificial companionship
– human–AI relations and philosophy of technology
– agency, attribution, and responsibility
– trust, autonomy, dependency, and epistemic authority
– anthropomorphism, personhood, and the status of artificial counterparts
– social and communicative roles of generative AI
– media ethics, AI ethics, and digital anthropology
– implications of AI companionship for communication and the public sphere
The conference welcomes theoretical and empirical papers as well as panels and interactive formats.
Please note: The conference language is German. Submissions should therefore be suitable for presentation and discussion in German.
Conference: 17–19 February 2027
Venue: Austrian Academy of Sciences and University of Vienna, Vienna
Abstract: approx. 4,000 characters including spaces
Submission deadline: 15 September 2026
Conference website: https://www.netzwerk-medienethik.de/jahrestagung/artificial-companionship/
Call for Papers (PDF): https://www.netzwerk-medienethik.de/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/CFP-nme2027.pdf
Submission via ConfTool: https://www.conftool.net/medienethik2027/
Contact: [email protected]
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