36.3296, Confs: Social Encounters with Artificial Others: Linguistic, Emotional, and Cognitive Relationality in Contemporary Human–AI Interaction (Switzerland)

Wed Oct 29 12:05:02 UTC 2025

LINGUIST List: Vol-36-3296. Wed Oct 29 2025. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 36.3296, Confs: Social Encounters with Artificial Others: Linguistic, Emotional, and  Cognitive Relationality in Contemporary Human–AI Interaction (Switzerland)

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Date: 28-Oct-2025
From: Dr. Florina Zuelli [florina.zuelli at ds.uzh.ch]
Subject: Social Encounters with Artificial Others: Linguistic, Emotional, and  Cognitive Relationality in Contemporary Human–AI Interaction

Social Encounters with Artificial Others: Linguistic, Emotional, and
Cognitive Relationality in Contemporary Human–AI Interaction

Date: 16-Apr-2026 - 17-Apr-2026
Location: Zurich, Switzerland
Contact: Dr. Florina Zuelli
Contact Email: florina.zuelli at ds.uzh.ch

Linguistic Field(s): Computational Linguistics; Discourse Analysis;
Pragmatics; Psycholinguistics; Sociolinguistics
Subject Language(s): English (eng)
                     German (deu)

Submission Deadline: 11-Jan-2026

Over the past years, interactions between humans and artificial
interlocutors have increasingly become part of everyday life. AIs such
as ChatGPT, Woebot, and Replika are perceived not merely as tools, but
as helpers, confidants, or even romantic partners. These encounters
compel us to rethink the linguistic, social, and epistemic foundations
of concepts such as “(social) interaction,” and furthermore to
reconsider the boundaries of subjectivity and identity. This
interdisciplinary workshop explores how language functions as a medium
through which humans and machines establish, negotiate, and sustain
relationships. It seeks to address how identity, intimacy, and social
and emotional connection are linguistically and discursively
constructed in dialogues with artificial entities — and how such
exchanges transform broader understandings of being human in the age
of personable AI.
We invite contributions from psycholinguistics, discourse and
conversation analysis, pragmatics, psychology, social studies,
communication and media studies, and related fields.
Possible topics include, but are not limited to:
 - Linguistic and pragmatic practices in human–AI interaction
 - Conversational routines and ritualized interaction in everyday
exchanges with AI partner
 - Discursive constructions of self and other in dialogues with AI
 - The notion of machine identity: do AIs display “person-like”
characteristics in interaction?
 - Adaptation, alignment, and repair phenomena in speech-based
human–AI interaction
 - Language as a resource for intimacy, trust, and affective alignment
 - Corpora and methodologies for analyzing human–machine communication
 - Relationality, anthropomorphism, and the ethics of address
 - Interpersonal and narrative positioning in chat- and voice-based
interfaces
 - Psychological effects of AI interaction on mental health
 - Interactional norms (e.g. politeness, alignment) in conversations
with voice assistants (e.g., Alexa, Siri, Google Assistant)
 - Metapragmatic awareness and users’ reflections on communicating
with AIs
 - Shifting notions of agency and accountability in human–machine
communication
We particularly encourage contributions that combine empirical and
theoretical perspectives, and that foster dialogue between linguistic,
psychological, and social approaches to Human–AI Interaction. We
explicitly welcome work in progress, pilot studies, and exploratory
projects that present new data, innovative methodologies, or emerging
conceptual frameworks. The workshop aims to provide a space for
discussion, exchange, and collaboration across disciplinary
boundaries, with a focus on understanding the linguistic and
psychological mechanisms that shape human engagement with artificial
interlocutors.
Format and Submission:
The workshop will include individual paper presentations, data
sessions, and a closing roundtable on the conceptual boundaries of
“personhood” in human–machine communication.
Please submit an abstract of 400–500 words (excluding references) to
florina.zuelli at ds.uzh.ch by January 11, 2026. Notifications of
acceptance will be sent by January 26, 2026.
Venue and Dates:
University of Zurich, Switzerland
16–17 April 2026
Proceedings/Special Issue: A special issue featuring selected papers
from the workshop is planned for Frontiers in Psychology (section
Language Sciences).
For questions or expressions of interest, please contact the
organizers at florina.zuelli at ds.uzh.ch or elisabeth.zima at ds.uzh.ch.

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