Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the defining technology of our times. It has already impacted the way we do daily chores, run our businesses, or design work (Seymour et al., 2024; Zhang et al., 2023). AI has become much more ubiquitous in our daily lives thanks to the emergence of Generative AI tools (Alavi et al., 2024; Wang et al., 2025). Firms and researchers across the world are engaged in attempts to make AI tools more human to enable more engagement between humans and these AI tools (Seymour et al., 2024). Anthropomorphism refers to the users’ (humans) perception of the AI tools as human-like (Epley et al. 2007).

Track Co-Chairs:
Ashish Kumar Jha, Trinity College, Dublin
Rohit Nishant, Queen’s Business School, Belfast
Jessica Braojos, University of Granada, Spain

Schedule
2026
Sunday, June 14th
12:00 AM

(A)Immortality: Understanding People'S Motivation For Using A Deadbot And Developing A Parasocial Preference For It – An Empirical Analysis Based On Attachment Theory

Lara Fröbel, Heinrich Heine University

12:00 AM

Computers Are Soci(Et)Al Actors: Extending Intergroup Contact Theory To Anthropomorphic Ai Agents

Georg Voronin, University Potsdam

12:00 AM

Cute For A Cause: How Anime-Like Virtual Influencer Outperform Human-Like Designs In Prosocial Advertising

Linus Biedermann, Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions
Anja Dieckmann, Aalen University of Applied Sciences
Carolin Kaiser, Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions
Vladimir Manewitsch, Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions

12:00 AM

Formation Of Ai Anthropomorphism Structured By The Customer Journey – Towards A Conceptual Framework

Philipp Hansmeier, Paderborn University

12:00 AM

Procedural Justice And The Limits Of Explanations In Human-Ai Decision-Making

Simon Merz, University of Halle Wittenberg
Arisa Shollo, Copenhagen Business School
Konstantin Hopf, Chemnitz University of Technology

12:00 AM

The Impact Of Customising Anthropomorphic Conversational Agents On Users’ Trusting Beliefs

Shanshan Hu, Technical University of Munich
Manuel Schmidt-Kraepelin, Technical University of Munich
Scott Thiebes, Tongji University
Felix Pietsch, Technical University of Munich
Zhongyun Zhou, Tongji University
Ali Sunyaev, Technical University of Munich

12:00 AM

The Impact Of Using Ai Avatars On Enhancing Students’ Engagement

Aris Malca Morales, Universidad Continental
Najmeh Hafezieh, Royal Holloway University of London

12:00 AM

The Janus Face Of Ai Anthropomorphism – Building And Threatening Users' Identities

Vinzenz Wolf, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München

12:00 AM

The Role Of Self-Referential Social Cues And Small Talk In Large Language Model-Based Health Coaching: Enhancing Anthropomorphism And User Trust

Sophia Meywirth, University of Kassel

12:00 AM

Towards Design Pattern For Common Ground In Human-Artificial Intelligence Interaction

Antonia Tolzin, Research Center for IS Design (ITeG) University Kassel
Jan Marco Leimeister, University of St. Gallen

12:00 AM

Trust Dynamics In Livestream Commerce

Claude Liu, Audencia Business School
Chris Sheng-chi Chen, National Taipei University
Nikolay Mehandjiev, University of Birmingham

12:00 AM

Trust Me If You Can: The Role Of Competence, Benevolence, And Integrity When Digital Humans Fail

Janek Mücksch, TUD Dresden University of Technology
Marie-Christin Papen, WIK Wissenschaftliches Institut für Infrastruktur und Kommunikationsdienste GmbH
Sascha Lichtenberg, Saarland University
Alfred Benedikt Brendel, Indiana University
Mariam Bellger, TUD Dresden University of Technology
Florian Siems, TU Dresden

12:00 AM

When Trust Reduces Critical Thinking: A Qualitative Study On How Social Presence Contributes To Cognitive Offloading Toward Generative Ai Chatbots In The Workplace

Jacopo Valentini, LIUC - Università Carlo Cattaneo
Aurelio Ravarini, LIUC - Università Carlo Cattaneo

12:00 AM