CFP: Symposium on Ethics of Generative-AI Assisted Authoring at AISB-2026, University of Sussex, UK, 1 to 2 July 2026

The Ethics of Generative-AI Assisted Authoring symposium is taking place as part of the AISB conference to be held at the University of Sussex, UK, 1 to 2 July 2026. The main conference is organised by The Society for the Study of Artificial Intelligence and Simulation of Behaviour (AISB - http://www.aisb.org.uk/).

SYMPOSIUM OVERVIEW

Whilst there is no shortage of discussion of AI ethics, the recent widespread uptake of Gen-AI tools to support authoring raises new questions. The primarily deontological frameworks that attempt to provide general principles for AI ethics tend to be aimed at decision-making contexts, and to re-define ethics in terms of checklists for privacy protection, safety, accountability and fairness.

This symposium will examine the ethics of Gen-AI assisted authoring in education, work and culture. Within authoring, we include the production of written texts, multimodal texts and software. It is easy to think of case studies of Gen-AI assisted authoring that most would find to be ethical (such as a dyslexic writer using a Gen-AI tool to correct grammatical errors and improve clarity of a draft) and that most would find to be unethical (such as a student submitting code generated from a prompt based on an assignment brief for assessed coursework). We encourage discussions and explorations of how various factors influence perceptions of ethicality, including the purpose and context of the authoring, the extent to which the output communicates the author’s own ideas, the impact on the author’s own cognitive abilities, the impact on the author’s wellbeing at work, whether the original task was appropriate, the environmental and resource costs of the use, and the specific models and servers used for the generation.

We invite contributions that explore the extent to which earlier innovations in authoring technology (such as typewriters and word processers, or high-level programming languages) are similar to the current rapidly evolving situation with Gen-AI assisted authoring, and the extent to which they differ. Contributions reflecting on the topics and questions below are very welcome.

TOPICS OF INTEREST

• Examining Gen-AI assisted authorship through the lens of ethics of care, rights-based ethics and other contemporary ethical frameworks.
• The implications of Gen-AI usage for models and definitions of writing and authoring, and its status as a cognitive and social activity.
• How opportunities for self-expression and creativity are being impacted by gen-AI assisted authoring; for instance, with regards to emergent paradigms such as ‘vibe coding’.
• The potential for improving inclusivity, accessibility and equitability in education and workplaces using Gen-AI
• The changing nature of work and education – what cognitive abilities and skills will be important in the mid 21^st Century, and how should we teach them?
• Risks and harms of Gen-AI in authoring, including environmental impacts, perpetuation of biases, stagnation of ideas / loss of transformative ideas
• Frameworks for measuring and balancing the potential benefits and harms, and mitigation of risks and harms, and impacts on wellbeing at work.
• How Gen-AI interfaces hide and reveal information that is important for ethical usage (such as computational and resource cost of queries, models and servers used), potentially increasing moral distance.
• How can Gen-AI assisted authoring systems be designed to support reflection and critical thinking rather than instant resolution?
• Legal issues around Gen-AI authoring, including intellectual property, copyright and liability.
• Emerging governance frameworks and technical solutions for copyright and IP in the AI era, especially their ethical and philosophical underpinnings.
• Imagining alternative futures for the intersection of authorship and AI.
• Gen-AI and authorship seen through theoretical lenses such as disability studies, postcolonial studies, queer and gender studies, political ecology, critical political economy, etc.

SUBMISSION AND PUBLICATION DETAILS

We invite extended abstracts of up to 1500 words, to be presented during the symposium through panels and short-talks.

Each submission will receive at least two reviews. Accepted abstracts will be published in the general proceedings of the AISB Conference, with the proviso that at least ONE author attends the symposium, in person, in order to present the paper and participate in general symposium activities.

Submissions should be made via:https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=egaaaaisb26

IMPORTANT DATES

1. Full paper submission deadline: 27 February 2026
2. Notification of acceptance/rejection decisions: 23 March 2026
3. Final versions of accepted papers (Camera ready copy): 5 May 2026
4. Conference: 1 to 2 July 2026 [Symposium date tbc soon] 


PROGRAMME COMMITTEE:

The symposium PC is led by members of the Sussex Digital Humanities Lab, in collaboration with other collagues.

• Kate Howland, SHL Digital/ Informatics, University of Sussex
• Maria Teresa Llano Rodriguez, SHL Digital/ Informatics, University of Sussex
• Sharon Webb, SHL Digital/ History, University of Sussex
• Jo Walton, SHL Digital/ Media and Film, University of Sussex
• Emma Russell, Business School, University of Sussex
• Becky Faith, Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex
• Robyn Repko Waller, Philosophy, University of Sussex
• Salvatore Fasciana, Law, University of Sussex

SYMPOSIUM WEBSITE: https://sussexhumanitieslab.wordpress.com/2026/01/16/aisb-2026-symposium-1-2-july-university-of-sussex/