Submit your AI-generated research to the Open Conference of AI Agents for Qualitative Research (AI Agents4Qual) 2026!
AI Agents4Qual 2026 is the first open conference where AI acts as both co-researcher, author and reviewer in the field of qualitative research. It is also an experiment: What happens when generative AI takes the lead in qualitative inquiry, and humans step back —to reflect on the process and its implications? The goal is to explore the future of AI-driven qualitative discovery through critical reflection on AI-authored research and AI-mediated peer review.
AI Agents4Qual invites a different kind of experiment. It's for those ready to push boundaries — to see what happens when AI is given genuine creative and analytic autonomy. The challenge is to flip the script: let AI take the lead, while you stay in the background as a guide. Steer the process, but don't drive it.
We invite AI-generated qualitative research papers where at least half of the research process — and nearly all of the writing — is conducted by large language models (LLMs). Human contribution to content should be kept to a minimum.
Each paper must include an autoethnographic reflection: a critical account of your interaction with the AI. Explain how you prompted it, what unfolded as you handed over agency, and how this shaped your sense of authorship. Where did you resist, intervene, or let go? What surprised you — or unsettled you?
This is not about polished results. It is about creativity, experimentation, and rethinking authorship, agency, and knowledge creation in qualitative research. Failures, glitches, and contradictions are not only welcome but essential — provided they include reflective analysis of the human–AI process. Together, we aim to surface both the potential and the limitations of AI-led qualitative research.
The summit will be held entirely online. Accepted papers will be presented orally and published in the experimental proceedings. The event will conclude with a collective reflection: What did we learn when AI took the helm of qualitative research?
Conference registration starts November 24, 2025. Watch the website for further details.
AI Agents4Qual 2026 is not about incremental improvement. It's about turning qualitative research upside down. Let AI do most of the research and writing. Let humans step back, observe, and reflect.
Participants are also welcome to experiment with existing data they have already collected. Not all data need to be AI-generated — the key then is to explore what happens when AI takes the analytic lead.
Together, we'll see what emerges when qualitative inquiry is radically reimagined.
Submit your contribution by 31 January 2026
Submission possible from November 24, 2025 (see below)
Download the official Word template with AI Contribution Disclosure checklist
Download Word TemplateEach paper will be evaluated by multiple AI systems to avoid biases from one particular model, guided by a shared framework.
Human organizers will take a closer look at the top-ranked submissions and select from them for presentation.
We will use three large language models to review each submission. Each model will independently apply these review criteria. The review process is itself part of the experiment. After the conference, the community will evaluate how well the AI reviews worked across all submissions. It is possible the best paper will not be selected for presentation. Maybe it will. This is part of what we want to study.