Technospirituality and Interactive Systems

Interactive systems have transcended purely pragmatic functions to mediate deep existential and transcendental dimensions of the human experience. From AI-driven spiritual care and digital liturgy to mindfulness platforms and virtual pilgrimages, interactive systems are actively reshaping ritual practices, belief systems, and faith communities.

This Special Issue invites researchers, designers, and practitioners to submit original empirical, theoretical, methodological, or design/artifact contributions that explore the intersection of interactive systems and religion/spirituality (R/S). Our goal is to consolidate a rigorous, sociotechnical dialogue on how computing artifacts support, transform, or challenge spiritual experiences in contemporary society.

Topics of Interest

We look forward to submissions focusing on the design, development, evaluation, and/or critical examinations of interactive systems in R/S contexts, including but not limited to: 

  • Conversational agents in spiritual care and artificial intelligence
  • Digital memorialization and legacy tools
  • Grief technologies
  • Contemplative technologies 
  • Meditation technologies
  • Wellbeing
  • Cultural spirituality
  • AI ethics and/or ethical and privacy considerations of interactive systems that incorporate  R/S values, rituals, and/or practices. 

We also welcome submissions covering a broad range of topics within Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and social computing, including but not limited to:

  • Becoming Aware of one’s own and stakeholders’ beliefs and practices, and how these can lead to tensions that influence research and design in R/S contexts.
  • Addressing Tensions that emerge in R/S research and design, while recognizing that some tensions may be irresolvable.
  • Recognizing Fluidity as a core feature in the beliefs and practices of individuals and in today’s inter-cultural and inter-religious societies.
  • Embracing Uncertainty, openness, open-endedness, and ambiguity in designs and the design process in R/S contexts.
  • Centering the Everyday and reframing (participatory) design beyond formal R/S spaces to focus on the day-to-day R/S practices.
  • Shifting Perspectives from users to human spiritual beings, and toward more-than-human and longer-than-human lifespans when designing in R/S contexts.
  • Redefining Outcomes so the design process aims at spiritual development and self-reflection rather than the creation of a product.
  • Reshaping Design by drawing on and incorporating R/S values, rituals, and practices into (participatory) design processes and practices.

*Note: We affirm that there is an enormous and diverse spectrum of R/S beliefs and communities in the world, of which many are experienced as sources of profound meaning, connection, and nourishment. We also acknowledge the reality and lived experiences of religious trauma, manipulation, abuse, cults, and other R/S-related harms. Submissions on these topics are welcome and should be carefully disclosed and scoped, with content warnings where appropriate.

Submission Guidelines

Submissions must be original, unpublished, and not currently under review by any other journal or conference. Papers must be written in English and follow the official formatting and submission guidelines of the Journal on Interactive Systems (JIS). All manuscripts will undergo a rigorous anonymous peer-review process coordinated by the Guest Editors and a panel of international experts. Guest Editors will recommend an editorial decision, which will be considered by the Editors-in-Chief in making the final decision. Authors must read and follow these instructions carefully when preparing their manuscripts. We strongly recommend reading the journal's editorial workflow and guidelines for reviewers.

Notice: JIS is a diamond open-access journal indexed by Scopus, with no APCs or other charges for authors or readers. Therefore, the Editorial Board expects full compliance with the journal’s requirements and instructions.

Important Dates

  • Submission Deadline: December 11, 2026
  • First Round Reviews Sent: March 15, 2027
  • Author Revision Deadline (1st Round): April 19, 2027
  • Second Round Reviews Sent: May 31, 2027
  • Final Editorial Decision (Accept/Reject): June 14, 2027
  • Camera-Ready Version Due: July 05, 2027
  • Target Publication Date: July 30, 2027

Guest editors

Jean C. S. Rosa (Federal University of Lavras, Brazil) holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA) and completed a post-doctoral at the Interactive Technologies Institute (ITI/LARSyS) in Portugal. He currently serves on the Editorial Board of the SBC Journal on Computing Reviews (SBC Reviews) and was the General Chair of the XII Latin American Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (CLIHC 2026). He was one of the co-proposers of Grand Challenge for Research in Human-Computer Interaction in Brazil for 2025-2035 No. 4 (Sociocultural Aspects in HCI), which explicitly identifies spirituality as a challenging sociocultural dimension for the field.

Sara Wolf (University of Würzburg, Germany) holds a Ph.D. in Human-Computer Interaction from the University of Würzburg (JMU). She is currently a postdoctoral researcher and lecturer at the Institute Human-Computer-Media at JMU, where she serves as Principal Investigator of the SoulMate project exploring AI-powered companion technologies for navigating existential concerns, and an associated researcher at the URPP Digital Religion(s), University of Zurich. She has also held research stays at Open Lab, Newcastle University (UK) and the Cognitive Engineering Research Group (CERG), University of Queensland (Australia). Drawing upon participatory design and speculative methods, her research investigates how interactive technologies mediate ritual, spirituality, and existential well-being. 

Daisuke Uriu (Shibaura Institute of Technology, Japan) holds a Ph.D. in Media Design from Keio University Graduate School of Media Design. He is currently an Associate Professor at the College of Design Engineering, Shibaura Institute of Technology, and previously held academic and research positions at the University of Tokyo, Toyo University, Keio University, and the National University of Singapore. As an interaction designer and HCI researcher, his work investigates how digital technologies mediate memory, mourning, and memorialization. Drawing on Research through Design, ethnographic inquiry, concept development, prototyping, and engagement with people who live with designed artifacts, Dr. Uriu explores how individuals and communities preserve memories, honor the deceased, and create meaningful relationships with loved ones across time.

Teresa K. O'Leary (NYU Grossman School of Medicine, USA) holds a Ph.D. in Personal Health Informatics from Northeastern University. She is currently a postdoctoral fellow in emergency medicine at NYU Grossman School of Medicine in New York City, USA, and has completed additional postdoctoral training in Biomedical Informatics at Yale University. As a sociotechnical researcher with expertise in conversational agent design, development, and evaluation, she brings her work in technospirituality to the intersection of mental health, grief, spirituality/religion, and interpersonal and community dynamics. Using a whole-person orientation, her work blends hybrid models of care through in-person and interactive technology-based initiatives, with the ultimate goal of facilitating healing by creating interactive systems that conceptualize health as an interrelated experience of spiritual, social, physical, and mental well-being.