Being and Becoming in Human-Machine Communication: Core Commitments and Conceptual Foundations of a Trans-Ontological Field

Abstract

This introduction traces the emergence of Human-Machine Communication (HMC) as a distinct field centered on communication across ontological boundaries. Arguing that HMC is not merely about interacting with machines but about how communicative presence and legitimacy are constituted, the authors introduce the Act–Mean–Relate (AMR) paradigm to conceptualize how machines’ capacity for action, signification, and relation enable communication. HMC challenges human exceptionalism by shifting focus from internal states and categorical differences to symbolic and relational dynamics. It addresses the interpretive labor involved in making machine others intelligible and emphasizes communication as the co-construction of social reality. The article highlights tensions between computational and relational logics and treats design as a third party in communicative triads. In doing so, it frames HMC as a pluralistic, trans-ontological field that advances communication theory while attending to the ethical, epistemic, and material implications of human-machine communication.