Key Dates:
Abstract submission deadline: November 25, 2026
Notification of acceptance: December 15, 2026
Full paper submission deadline: February 15, 2027
International applicants who require a U.S. visa are encouraged to submit as early as possible, as processing times vary and can be lengthy.
Conference Overview:
The emergence of artificial intelligence as a transformative social and technological force has generated considerable scholarly attention across the sciences, philosophy and the humanities. Yet the religious, theological and sociological dimensions of this development remain underexplored in formal academic settings. Questions of human identity, eschatological imagination, moral responsibility, interfaith harmony and community life, long central to the study of religion, are being profoundly reshaped by intelligent machines, and they demand rigorous, interdisciplinary engagement.
This student-led, two-day conference, hosted by the Department of Religion at Rice University, brings together experts from leading institutions worldwide alongside graduate and undergraduate scholars across multiple disciplines, with particular emphasis on the humanities and social sciences.
Format:
Day One is devoted to registration and an opening session, followed by an interdisciplinary meet-and-greet reception for participating faculty and presenting students. The reception is designed to foster dialogue across institutional and disciplinary boundaries before formal sessions begin.
Day Two features thematic panels, each consisting of student paper presentations followed by structured responses from faculty and expert discussants, alongside open discussion sessions. The day concludes with a closing ceremony featuring representatives from leading research centers and institutes.
People:
Student Organizer:
Syed Farooq Mohyud Din
Departmental Advisor:
William Parsons
Department Chair:
Brian Ogren
For more information, please email aiconference@rice.edu.