Navigating the Next Transformation: Human-AI Collaboration Takes Center Stage

The upcoming AMCIS 2026 conference, themed "The Next Transformation," is set to delve into the profound shifts occurring at the intersection of technology and society. This pivotal event will explore how the convergence of artificial intelligence, digital platforms, automation, and data-centric innovation is fundamentally reshaping our lives and work. The conference theme itself, NEXTTRANS, highlights an era where emerging technologies like smart devices, edge computing, AR/VR, FinTech, and autonomous systems demand responsible deployment to foster equitable and sustainable progress.

At the heart of this transformation lies the critical challenge of navigating socio-technical dynamics. AMCIS 2026 will be a platform for discussing the intricate balance between technological advancement and societal well-being, focusing on issues of trust, privacy, and the evolving landscape of work. The goal is to understand how innovation can be channeled to ensure inclusive and responsible outcomes, drawing on diverse research methodologies from conceptual to empirical and design science.

The Rise of Human-AI Co-Agency

A significant portion of the conference's exploration will be dedicated to the "Human-AI Co-Agency: Designing for Shared Control and Autonomy" mini-track. This focused area seeks to uncover the nuances of how humans and AI can effectively collaborate, moving beyond simple task delegation to genuine shared decision-making and negotiated autonomy.

This mini-track is conceptually distinct from broader discussions on the future of work. It zeroes in on the deep design, behavioral, and management issues inherent in creating systems where humans and AI agents work in tandem. Key areas of inquiry include adaptive interfaces, new paradigms of "co-work," and the crucial understanding of when and how to cede or reclaim control between human and machine.

The research presented will tackle critical questions surrounding the design for transparency and fallback mechanisms, as well as the complex challenge of reconciling potentially divergent goals between human and artificial partners. This also extends to technically grounded IS research focusing on adjustable autonomy, mixed-initiative control, and uncertainty-aware interfaces.

Technical Frontiers and Societal Implications

Furthermore, the mini-track encourages contributions that bridge IS questions with cutting-edge AI technologies, such as Large Language Model (LLM)-based copilots and agents, retrieval-augmented generation, and human-in-the-loop learning pipelines. Emphasis will be placed on reproducible evaluation, governance, and real-world deployment of these advanced AI systems.

Key topics under discussion will include the performance measurement and evaluation of human-AI co-agency, acknowledging the blurred lines of responsibility. The dynamics of negotiated autonomy and control handoff mechanisms will be explored, as will the vital role of transparency, explainability, and reliability in shared-agency systems.

Governance, Trust, and Skill Development

The imperative for new approaches to governance and accountability in co-intentional systems is also a central theme. With blurred lines and potential lack of transparency, new frameworks are needed to address hybrid accountability. The design of co-intentional systems, including their interfaces and architectures, will be examined for both opportunities and unintended consequences.

Crucially, the mini-track will investigate trust calibration in human-AI co-agency, recognizing its prerequisite status for successful collaboration. The potential effects of anthropomorphism in AI interactions, and how it might influence perceptions of control and responsibility, will also be a subject of debate. Finally, the long-term effects of co-agency on the development, degradation, and retention of human skills are identified as a critical area for ongoing research.

The AMCIS 2026 conference promises a deep dive into the complexities and opportunities presented by the next wave of digital transformation, with a particular emphasis on fostering responsible and effective human-AI partnerships. The call for papers, encompassing both completed research and emergent forum contributions, underscores the urgency and breadth of research needed in this dynamic field.

Source Insight: This report was curated based on original coverage from amcis2026.aisconferences.org.

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