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Sociological research practice: Communicative AI and artificial companionship at the Department of Sociology, University of Vienna

The sociological research practice on communicative AI and artificial companionship at the Department of Sociology, University of Vienna, is entering its second semester. In this two-semester bachelor’s course, students investigate a wide range of questions related to AI companions. The course is led by ComAI members Michaela Pfadenhauer, Andrea Heisse, and Marvin Waibel. While the winter semester 2025/26 focused on developing research designs and data collection, the summer semester is characterized by the analysis of empirical data and its theoretical framing.

Across nine projects, students explore, among other topics:

• the attribution of agency to AI companions in Austrian daily newspapers
• the emergence of religious AI companions
• the reasons for initiating and ending AI relationships
• emotions in the narration of these relationships
• the relationship between loneliness and AI companions
• expectations of AI companions in bereavement processes
• the sexualization of AI companions 
• emerging forms of sexualized violence
• state regulation of AI companions in China

The practicum is also accompanied by external guest lectures. Guest speakers to date have included, among others, Enese Daróczi (CTL Vienna), Wanting Zhang (University of Vienna), Paul Distler (Chemnitz University of Technology), and Laura Wiesböck (IHS Vienna).