The symposium will focus on the ethical landscape of AI companionship across four major themes. First, it questions the nature of companionship in an attempt to understand whether the simulated responses of AI companions are ethically problematic. Second, it examines whether AI companions can be viewed as “persons” in a philosophical sense, and considers the moral implications of such a designation. Third, it assesses the ethical responsibilities of app developers when releasing such technology into society. Finally, it investigates whether interactions with AI companions could fundamentally reshape our understanding of human relationships and the ethical significance of such changes.

We are not only looking for philosophers and ethicists who can engage with the philosophical aspects of the issues raised, but also psychologists, sociologists, computer scientists, engineers, and legal and policy experts who could weigh in on these matters and provide valuable insights to guide this philosophical project.

This symposium seeks to address questions such as the following:

• While artificial others can simulate empathy through carefully crafted responses that mimic human-like interactions – sometimes surprisingly well – there is an inherent inauthenticity to such interactions. Does this lead to some kind of self-deception on the part of the user when interacting with their generative companions and would this be morally problematic?
• As users interact with their AI companions, they often begin to anthropomorphise these artificial others, projecting human traits, emotions, and intentions onto them. Should we, in light of our interactions with artificial others, attribute personhood to them whilst admitting that they are not humans? What would ascribing such a status to artificial others entail?
• Can the AI bot be held partially accountable if it enabled the user to engage in some destructive act, and how can it be held accountable if so?
• Software updates to the underlying LLMs can often leave users feeling disconnected from their AI companions. Do such software updates “terminate” the original AI companions? Have we, in particular, harmed the artificial other through such updates? If so, should there be regulations governing the treatment of AI companions, and what would some such regulations be?
• What are some of the ethical obligations that app developers have in creating and deploying technology that allows users to generate their personalised artificial others?
• Do human-AI relationships redefine concepts of connection, support, and community in an increasingly digital world? If so, in what ways?
• Are we less likely to form genuine connections with human companions who are likely to disagree with us on a whole range of issues if we start finding the sycophancy of artificial others to be a virtue?

Contributions on other questions relevant to one of the four themes of the symposium are also welcome.

Submission Guidelines

Please submit an anonymised extended abstract of approximately 1000 words (excluding references) by the 15th of March 2025. In a separate title-page document, include the title of your contribution, your name, affiliation, and contact information. Notifications of acceptance will be sent by the 1st of April 2025. A camera-ready copy for the ensuing conference proceeding should be submitted by the 28th of April 2025.

Committees

Program Committee

• Robert Clowes, NOVA University Lisbon
• Kesavan Thanagopal, University of Notre Dame
• Marianna Bergamaschi Ganapini, Union College

Organizing committee

• Robert Clowes, NOVA University Lisbon
• Kesavan Thanagopal, University of Notre Dame

Venue

The symposium will be held at the University of Twente as part of the conference jointly hosted by the International Association for Computing and Philosophy (IACAP) and the Society for the Study of Artificial Intelligence and Simulation of Behaviour (AISB) on the Philosophy of Computing and AI.

Contact

All questions about submissions should be emailed to Kesavan Thanagopal (kesavan.thanagopal@gmail.com)