AIES 2026 – 9th AAAI/ACM Conference on AI, Ethics, and Society: Everything You Need to Know

What Is AIES 2026?

The 9th AAAI/ACM Conference on AI, Ethics, and Society (AIES 2026) is a premier interdisciplinary gathering dedicated to the critical examination of artificial intelligence through the lenses of ethics, law, social sciences, and policy. Co-organized by the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) and the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), this conference has established itself as a leading forum for rigorous scholarship on the societal implications of AI systems.

Scheduled for October 12–14, 2026, in Malmö, Sweden, AIES 2026 brings together a diverse community of researchers and practitioners who are actively shaping the responsible development and deployment of AI technologies. The conference distinguishes itself by bridging technical AI research with normative and empirical questions about power, governance, fairness, accountability, and transparency. As AI systems become increasingly embedded in critical social domains—from criminal justice and healthcare to hiring and education—the work presented at AIES 2026 directly informs how these technologies are designed, regulated, and contested.

Why does AIES 2026 matter? Because the most consequential decisions about AI are not purely technical. They involve trade-offs between competing values, questions of who benefits and who bears the costs, and the distribution of power across societies. This conference provides a rare space where computer scientists, legal scholars, philosophers, sociologists, and policymakers can engage in sustained dialogue—moving beyond abstract principles to grapple with concrete implementation challenges and structural inequalities.

Why It Matters for AI Professionals

For AI professionals—whether you are a machine learning engineer, a product manager, or a research scientist—AIES 2026 offers essential insights that are difficult to obtain at more technically focused conferences. Understanding the ethical and societal dimensions of your work is no longer optional; regulators, clients, and the public increasingly demand responsible AI practices. Attending AIES 2026 equips you with frameworks for anticipating harms, designing for fairness, and navigating the complex legal and policy landscapes that govern AI deployment.

Beyond knowledge, the conference provides direct access to the researchers and practitioners who are setting the standards for ethical AI. You will gain exposure to cutting-edge evaluation methodologies, governance models, and participatory design approaches that can be integrated into your own workflows. For professionals working in high-stakes domains such as healthcare, finance, or public sector AI, the insights from AIES 2026 are directly actionable.

What to Expect

AIES 2026 will feature a program organized around four core thematic areas, as outlined by the conference organizers:

• Power and Governance: Examining how AI systems concentrate or redistribute power, including topics such as algorithmic regulation, surveillance, democratic accountability, and the role of international institutions.
• Ethical Design: Focusing on methodologies for building AI systems that align with human values, including fairness metrics, explainability techniques, value-sensitive design, and participatory approaches.
• AI in Social Domains: Exploring the deployment of AI in specific contexts such as criminal justice, healthcare, education, social welfare, and employment, with attention to domain-specific ethical challenges.
• Global Inequalities: Addressing how AI development and deployment affect disparities between and within countries, including issues of data colonialism, labor displacement, digital divides, and the marginalization of underrepresented communities.

In addition to paper presentations, the conference typically includes keynote talks, panel discussions, workshops, and poster sessions. Specific speakers and the detailed program schedule for AIES 2026 are to be announced on the official website.

Who Should Attend

AIES 2026 is designed for a multidisciplinary audience. The primary attendees include academic researchers from AI, computer science, ethics, philosophy, law, political science, sociology, and science and technology studies. However, the conference is equally valuable for:

• AI practitioners and engineers seeking to embed ethical considerations into their development pipelines.
• Policy advisors and regulators working on AI governance frameworks at local, national, or international levels.
• Legal professionals specializing in technology law, data protection, and liability.
• Civil society advocates and journalists covering the societal impact of AI.
• Industry executives and product leaders responsible for responsible AI strategy and compliance.

How to Register

Registration for AIES 2026 is managed through the official conference website. Pricing tiers are typically offered for early-bird registration, standard registration, and student registration, with reduced rates for AAAI and ACM members. Specific pricing details for the 2026 edition are to be announced. To register or to receive updates when registration opens, visit the official conference portal at aies-conference.com/2026.