[Air-L] CfP: Digital Intimacies 11

[Lik Sam Chan (COM)]

Digital Intimacies 11:  The Love of Machines
Call for Papers

Conference Dates: 3-5 December 2025
Location: The University of Sydney (Day 1: Virtual, Days 2–3: In-person, to be adjusted if needed)
Submission Deadline: 29 August 2025

In the contemporary intimacy landscape, machines have emerged not merely as mediators but as potential objects of desire. From sophisticated dating apps that claim to decode compatibility, to conversational agents scripting our seductions, to synthetic lovers rendering human connection obsolete—machines don't just shape digital intimacies; they reconfigure the terrain upon which intimacy itself is constructed.

For Digital Intimacies 11, we invoke Alan Turing’s seminal question: “Can machines think?” — but with a crucial reimagining for our era: “Can machines love? Or, how can machines love?” Just as Turing proposed his famous imitation game to test machine intelligence, we now face intimate interactions where the boundaries between human and machines blur. When we can no longer distinguish between human and machine-generated affection, what becomes of intimacy itself?

We invite submissions across disciplines to engage with, question, appreciate, and evaluate the manifold manifestations of machines in intimate spheres: machines that we love, machines that we use for love, machines that can or cannot love, machines that serve as signs of love, and more. We welcome papers exploring topics including, but not limited to:


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Cultural politics of human-machine intimacy and synthetic intimacy
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Resistance to and non-use of AI-mediated relationship technologies
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Dark sides of algorithmic intimacy and automated desire
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Media and cinematic representations of AI romance or “artificial lover”
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Modern “imitation games” where machines pass as human in intimate contexts
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Methodological considerations in researching human-machine intimacies
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Evolution and critique of matching algorithms in digital courtship
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AR/VR and intimacies
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Broader practices and phenomena of digital intimacies


We are delighted to announce that Chou Tung-Yen, a renowned artist from Taiwan whose visual artworks explore queer intimacies, will be joining us. In-person attendees will have the opportunity to experience his documentary Looking For<https://youtu.be/-TvcA4y0rz0> (2017) and immerse themselves in his VR exploration In the Mist<https://www.vmstudio.tw/%E9%9C%A7%E4%B8%AD-in-the-mist> (2020)—works that navigate connection in digital-physical borderlands.

Conference Format
This hybrid conference will take place over three days:


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Day 1: Remote presentations only
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Days 2–3: In-person presentations only
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These days can be adjusted if needed


All sessions will be accessible to in-person attendees or via Zoom for remote attendees.

Submission Categories
We seek submissions on themes related to digital intimacies, the love of machines, and suggested topics above:


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Individual papers: Traditional academic presentations.
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Pre-constituted panels: Panels featuring 4 papers from researchers across at least two different universities.


Contributions are welcome from scholars at all career stages, with HDR students and ECRs especially encouraged to apply. We invite perspectives from diverse fields, including but not limited to, media studies, cultural studies, film studies, sociology, political science, human geography, computer science, HCI, psychology, education, and related disciplines.

Registration and Costs
Presentations and attendance are free of charge. Morning and afternoon tea will be provided daily for in-person attendees. To make the event freely accessible to all, attendees will be responsible for their own lunches. Optional self-funded social events include a dinner on Day 1 and drinks after the conclusion of the conference on Day 3.

Submission Guidelines
Deadline: 29 August 2025
Please submit to this Qualtrics form (https://sydney.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_eUJe1USBgriPAGy) with the following:


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Individual papers: Abstract (maximum 200 words) and author biography (maximum 50 words per person)
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Pre-constituted panels: Panel rationale (maximum 100 words), individual abstracts for each paper (maximum 100 words each) and speaker biographies (maximum 50 words per person)
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Please clearly indicate whether you will present in person, remotely, or are open to either format. All presenters in a pre-constituted panel must use the same presentation mode.


Notification of acceptance will be announced by 30 September 2025, at which time registration will open.

Enquiries: digitalintimacies.sydneyu at gmail.com
Website: digitalintiamcies11.wordpress.com

Organisers: Sam Chan (USyd), Pao-chen Tang (USyd), Qiyuan (Haley) Hu (USyd), Tingting Liu (UTS), and Paul Byron (UTS)

This conference is financially supported by the School of Art, Communication and English (SACE) and the Discipline of Film Studies at the University of Sydney.




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Lik Sam CHAN (he/him/his<https://www.mypronouns.org/>)

Lecturer, Media and Communications

The University of Sydney

&

Adjunct Associate Professor, School of Journalism and Communication

The Chinese University of Hong Kong