The systematic study of how technology and human relationships shape each other
Pillar I
How digital tools reshape relationships between humans — from intimacy patterns to communication norms to social expectations.
Research Areas
Pillar II
How humans form emotional bonds with AI, platforms, and digital entities — treating technology as relationship partners.
Research Areas
Pillar III
How desires for connection, intimacy, and belonging drive what we build — the reverse causality in the feedback loop.
Research Areas
Relational Computing sits at the intersection of Human-Computer Interaction, relationship psychology, and computational social science. It examines the bidirectional relationship between technology and human connection — how our tools shape the way we relate to each other, how we form bonds with technology itself, and how our fundamental need for connection drives technological innovation.
This framework moves beyond studying technology as a neutral mediator to recognizing it as an active participant in relational ecosystems. As AI companions become more sophisticated, as memory technologies reshape how we preserve intimacy, and as algorithmic curation influences who we connect with, understanding these dynamics becomes critical.
The field draws on attachment theory, social network analysis, affective computing, and platform studies to create a comprehensive understanding of technology-mediated intimacy in the 21st century.
vs. HCI
HCI optimizes the interface; Relational Computing studies the societal transformation that ripples outward from it.
vs. CSCW
CSCW focuses on instrumental relationships — how people collaborate; Relational Computing focuses on affective relationships — how people connect.
vs. Social Computing
Social computing builds tools for social interaction; Relational Computing studies the transformation of intimacy and the feedback loops between technology and connection.
vs. Affective Computing
Affective computing teaches technology to understand emotion; Relational Computing examines how technology reshapes intimacy itself.
vs. Relationship Science
Traditional relationship science treats technology as context; Relational Computing treats it as a core driver of relational change.
vs. Media Psychology
Media psychology studies the effects of media consumption; Relational Computing studies the transformation of relationships themselves.