37.553, Confs: Humans and Machines in Conversation: Linguistic, Social and Relational Perspectives on Conversational AI (United Kingdom)

[The LINGUIST List]

LINGUIST List: Vol-37-553. Tue Feb 10 2026. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 37.553, Confs: Humans and Machines in Conversation: Linguistic, Social and Relational Perspectives on Conversational AI (United Kingdom)

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Date: 09-Feb-2026
From: Amal Haddad Haddad [amalhaddad at ugr.es]
Subject: Humans and Machines in Conversation: Linguistic, Social and Relational Perspectives on Conversational AI


Humans and Machines in Conversation: Linguistic, Social and Relational
Perspectives on Conversational AI
Short Title: HUMIC

Date: 16-Jun-2026 - 16-Jun-2026
Location: Surrey, United Kingdom
Meeting URL:
https://www.ias.surrey.ac.uk/event/humic-humans-and-machines-in-conversation-linguistic-social-and-relational-perspectives/

Linguistic Field(s): Applied Linguistics

Submission Deadline: 16-Mar-2026

As generative AI and large language models reshape how we interact
with chatbots, voice assistants and conversational agents, HUMIC
focuses on the linguistic, social and relational dimensions of these
technologies—areas often overlooked in technical development.
HUMIC, led by Dr. Doris Dippold and supported by the Surrey Institute
for Advanced Studies, the BAAL Special Interest Group ‘Humans,
Machines, Languages’ and the Surrey Institute for People-Centred AI,
aims to foster interdisciplinary dialogue and connect academic
insights with industry practice. Such insights are vital for
developing conversational technologies that are context-aware,
socially responsive, and cater for their users’ rapport needs.
We invite contributions that explore the complex interplay between
humans and machines with reference to these factors. We welcome
submissions from researchers working across the disciplines, for
example but not limited to linguistics, psychology, sociology, natural
language processing, UX research, and conversation design. Submissions
may focus on any domain. We particularly welcome submissions from
industry, focusing for example on common challenges and practices in
designing conversational systems with linguistic, social and
relational perspectives in focus.
During the workshop, participants will be invited to participate in a
collaborative session. The session will encourage the generation of
new research ideas and explore how research can respond to industry
challenges.  Selected works resulting from this workshop will be
considered for a potential special issue.
Keynote Speakers:
 - Maaike Groonewege (ConvoCat, Netherlands) – Linguist and
Conversation Designer
 - Bettina Migge (University College Dublin, Ireland) – Language and
AI Technology
 - Christian Hildebrand (University of St Gallen, Switzerland) – AI
and Language in Consumer Behaviour
We invite 300-word proposal on topics related to the workshop. Themes
of interest include, but are not limited to:
 - Linguistic and pragmatic dimensions of human-machine dialogue
 - Social and relational dynamics in conversational AI, including
rapport-building, empathy and trust
 - Designing inclusive and accessible conversational systems that
account for the needs of diverse users (linguistic, cultural,
neurodiverse)
 - Linguistic choices and their role in shaping user expectations,
satisfaction, engagement and decision-making
 - Evaluation methods and metrics for linguistic, social and
relational outcomes in human–machine interaction (qualitative,
quantitative, or mixed-methods)
 - Model training and fine-tuning strategies for enhancing linguistic,
social and relational outcomes in human–machine interaction.
 - Interdisciplinary and academic-industry collaboration in the
development of linguistically, socially and relationally aware
conversational technologies
Accepted submissions will be assigned to oral or poster presentation
formats according to the mode of presentation best suited to their
content.
Submission Details:
 - Abstract length: 300 words (excluding title, authors and
references)
 - Deadline: 16th March 2026
 - Notification of acceptance: 27th April 2025
 - Submission: HUMIC – Humans and Machines in Conversation
Programme Committee:
Doris Dippold, Associate Professor in Intercultural Communication
Valentina Pitardi, Senior Lecturer in Marketing
Constantin Orasan, Professor of Language and Translation Technologies
Fabio Fasoli, Senior Lecturer in Social Psychology
Fu Di, Lecturer in Cognitive Neuroscience
Richard Geen, Surrey Future Fellow
Amal Haddad, Assistant professor in Translation and Interpreting



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