AI Hype, Hope & Humanity Conference

29 September – 2 October 2026 | Rotterdam, The Netherlands (Participation is free of charge)

Register for the conference here.

AI Hype, Hope & Humanity brings together researchers, practitioners, policymakers, industry actors, and societal stakeholders to critically explore the role of AI in society through the lens of ELSA (Ethical, Legal, and Societal Aspects) and responsible AI.

The conference aims to move beyond abstract principles and engage with how responsible AI is practically researched, developed, governed, and lived.

We invite academic contributions that reflect on, analyse, or demonstrate ELSA/ responsible AI in practice across disciplines, sectors, and societal domains.

We invite abstracts for presentations and posters

We welcome both:

• Theoretical contributions (e.g. conceptual, philosophical, or critical reflections on ELSA and responsible AI), and
• Empirical and practice-based contributions (e.g. case studies, applied research, policy work, design practices, or lived experiences with AI systems)

We encourage contributions from beyond academia, including public sector actors, civil society, industry, and interdisciplinary collaborations.

Submission guidelines

1. The submitting author is required to ensure that all co-authors are aware of and agree with the content of the abstract submission.
2. All abstracts should be written in English and be no longer than 300 words.
3. Note that you are allowed to submit maximally two abstracts per person.
4. All submissions should include information on the background, methods, results and conclusions of the submitted work. Only submissions following the abstract template (see template below) will be considered.
5. Presenters of accepted submissions are expected to register;within 1 month of acceptance notification. Conference participation is free of charge, however participants must organise and fund their travel and stay themselves.

As part of the submission, you will be asked to indicate:

• Your professional affiliation and current role
• Your preferred presentation format (oral or poster)
• Your intended audience
• The application domain(s) your work relates to (e.g. health, defence, etc.)

The ELSA aspects addressed in your contribution.

Themes & presentation formats

Submissions may address (but are not limited to) the following themes

• ELSA of AI (ethical, legal and societal aspects of AI systems and infrastructure)
• Conducting responsible AI / ELSA research (methods, reflexivity, interdisciplinary collaboration, transdisciplinary approaches)
• Fostering responsible AI in application domains (e.g. health, sustainability, media, safety, public administration, education,human resource management)
• Impacts of (responsible) AI development and implementation (societal, institutional, environmental, psychological, or economic effects, boundaries, opportunities or limitations of AI use)
• The role and impact of ELSA collaboration, methods, approaches (e.g. what difference do ELSA frameworks actually make?)
• Enhancing critical understanding and use of (generative) AI (tools, skills, AI literacy, engagement with target groups, explainable AI and science communication)

Based on a review process, authors of accepted abstracts will be invited to either give:

• Oral presentations (10–15 minute presentation within a themed session)
• Poster presentations (Visual presentation with dedicated discussion time)

Participants can indicate if they prefer a poster presentation rather than an oral presentation. Submissions should indicate whether they are intended for academic audiences, non-academic audiences, or mixed audiences.

Submission template

Structure of the abstract:

• Background: What problem does the submission focus on? What is known about this problem?
• Research approach: What is the central question? Research design and method.
• Findings: What are the main outcomes and results? And discussion of findings.
• Conclusion: Contribution and practical implications. Topics to be studied or developed further.

Practical Information about the submitter:

1. Your professional affiliation and current role;
2. Your preferred presentation format (oral or poster).

Contact & organisers

All questions about submissions should be emailed to ai.hhh@eur.nl

This event is organized by the network of ELSA Labs in the Netherlands:

The ELSA Labs Network Project

ELSA Lab AI MAPS

ELSA Lab Media & Democracy

ELSA Lab Defence

ELSA Lab Northern Netherlands

ELSA Lab AI4SFS.