Call for Papers:

2026 Philosophy of Human-Technology Relations Conference
Theme: The collective in the seemingly individual: Highlighting the world in human-technology relations
September 21-23, 2026
TU Delft
The Hague, the Netherlands
https://www.aanmelder.nl/phtr26

Deadline for submission of abstracts: March 20, 2026

We are happy to invite you to the 4th international Philosophy of Human-Technology Relations (PHTR) conference, to be held in person at TU Delft’s Campus Spui in The Hague (the Netherlands), on September 21-23, 2026. This edition’s theme aims to highlight the collective dimension of seemingly individual human-technology relations.

We invite submissions in different formats: individual paper presentations, design and multimedia contributions, panels, and interactive sessions. See below for more information about the themes, formats, submission guidelines, and important dates. Please submit your abstract to abstracts.phtr2026@tudelft.nl before March 20, 2026.

The keynote speakers include Helen Hester (University of West London), Elisa Giaccardi (Politecnico di Milano), and Peter-Paul Verbeek (UvA/KNAW). The conference is chaired by Olya Kudina and co-organized by an interdisciplinary committee with a shared interest in fostering dialogue and collaboration across academia, industry, and society at large.

After the conference, all participants are invited to submit their final work to the free diamond open-access Journal of Human-Technology Relations, companion journal to PHTR that originated in this conference.

Looking forward to welcoming you in The Hague!

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PHTR2026 takes human-technology-world (H-T-W) relations as an object of study, exploring their political, social, philosophical, design, and environmental dimensions. We therefore invite contributions from scholars working within or at the intersection of all relevant disciplines. We also welcome inter- and transdisciplinary, experimental, multimedia, and other submissions in non-traditional formats, as long as they fall within the proposed submission categories. Full paper submissions prior to the conference are not required, and all participants are invited to submit their final work to the Journal of Human-Technology Relations, companion journal to PHTR.

THEMES

We encourage submissions that address the main theme of PHTR2026, “The collective in the seemingly individual: Highlighting the world in human-technology relations”:

Since the last edition of PHTR in Copenhagen in 2022, technologies have become even more entrenched in our everyday lives. The emergence of user-friendly Generative AI applications continues to excite and puzzle people, bringing forth not just new opportunities but also the reformulation of related values and standards, particularly the urgent questions of the social and environmental sustainability of this technology. Meanwhile, the world is shaken by the increasing number of military conflicts, forcing people and governments to invent or creatively reappropriate technologies in order to support living conditions, maintain a sense of normalcy, and uphold human dignity. Emerging technologies can’t avoid being entangled with world-consequential events that raise questions about how humans relate to one another, their conflicts, and their collective potential to overcome current crises.

This edition of PHTR aims to highlight the collective dimension of seemingly individual human-technology relations by revealing the world that is always present within them—politically, culturally, environmentally, and otherwise. In particular, we invite explorations into the role of design in the philosophy of human-technology relations as a practice through which the collective shaping of new worlds can be imagined, negotiated, and materialized.

We welcome everyone interested in exploring the relations between humans and technology from diverse disciplinary angles, including philosophers, social scientists, artists, designers, and engineers. These inquiries may take experimental, multimedia, and other formats in addition to more conventional ones, provided they remain tied to human-technology relations as an object of philosophical study

We invite submissions related but not limited to:

• Politics and power in H-T-W relations
• Designing for relationality
• Ethics of the collective in H-T-W relations
• Social, cultural, and historical embeddedness of H-T-W relations
• More-than-human relational ontologies
• Methodological contributions to the study of H-T-W relations
• The role of Empirical Philosophy in highlighting the World in Human-Technology relations
• Bioethical foundations in the study of H-T-W relations
• Visual frameworks for H-T-W relations
• Social Justice and Design in the study of H-T-W relations
• Disciplinary and domain applications in the study of H-T-W relations
• Other related themes

FORMATS

PAPER PRESENTATION: We welcome submissions of individual or co-authored paper presentations. Abstracts of max. 250 words should concisely describe the topic and/or argument, methodological grounding, and relation to the conference theme. Paper presentations will be organized into 90-minute sessions featuring three to four contributions.

MULTIMEDIA (& DESIGN) CONTRIBUTIONS: We also welcome individual or co-authored submissions engaging with the philosophy of human-technology relations through “designerly” ways of knowing. These contributions treat design not merely as an application of theory, but as a generative method for uncovering new philosophical problems and commitments. In this format, we welcome abstracts that prioritize visual, material, or digital artifacts as the primary “text” of presentation. While no formal paper is required as with other contributions, abstracts for multimedia & design contributions of max. 250 words should clearly articulate the intended philosophical inquiry and the visual/material nature of the presentation. Multimedia (& design) contributions will be organized into 90-minute sessions featuring three to four contributions. This format is ideal for presenting:

• Pictorials: articulating arguments through rich visual documentation of design processes.
• Artifact-Based Provocations: using prototypes, critical designs, or “things” to manifest the dimensions of technology.
• Annotated Portfolios: reflecting on a series of design works to reveal recurring philosophical themes or shifts in human-world relations.
• Experimental Media: short films, soundscapes, or digital simulations that allow the audience to experience technological mediation firsthand.

PANEL SESSIONS: this format brings together scholars engaged in closely connected topics or research projects to present and discuss paper contributions aligned with the conference theme. Each session is allocated 90 minutes and includes both individual presentations and a joint discussion. Typically, each session includes three to four contributions. Submission requires one abstract by the panel convenor for the entire panel, describing the panel’s relation to the conference theme, its focus, and individual intended contributions in an abstract of no more than 500 words.

INTERACTIVE SESSIONS: We welcome formats that actively engage participants with pressing issues related to human-technology relations. They may include workshops, fishbowl sessions, live experiments, and public conversations that challenge habitual perspectives and open new lines of inquiry. Interactive sessions emphasize participation, situated reflection, and collective sense-making over formal paper-based presentations. Each interactive session is allocated 90 minutes. Submission requires one abstract by the organizer for the entire session that clearly outlines the format, goals, and expected mode of participation in no more than 500 words.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

All abstracts should include a title, a description of the contribution (within the word count), the affiliation of all intended contributors, and contact email(s). Submissions can be related to a work in progress or to a set of outputs, such as experimental work, conceptual work, posters, pictorials, multimedia exhibitions, design ideas, and annotated portfolios. If your contribution is accepted and you intend to present at the conference (as a co-author of the contribution, an individual presenter, or a participant in a panel or an interactive session), you must register for the conference (more information on registration soon).

IMPORTANT DATES

Submissions are open: February 11, 2026
Deadline for all submissions: March 20, 2026
Acceptance notification: May 1, 2026
Registration deadline: TBA
Conference: 21-23 September 2026