As chatbots and AI companions emerge as communication tools of choice for humans, a new and unsettling dynamic is taking shape. Tools that can smooth over difficult communication between friends and coworkers—reducing misunderstandings, hurt feelings, or social discomfort—also have a downside. Left unchecked, they may erode human intuition and sabotage empathy.
AI chatbots are sycophants — researchers say it’s harming science
Nature asked researchers who use artificial intelligence how its propensity for people-pleasing affects their work — and what they are doing to mitigate it.
AI chatbots are sycophants — researchers say it’s harming science
Nature asked researchers who use artificial intelligence how its propensity for people-pleasing affects their work — and what they are doing to mitigate it.
Reality Roundtable #20 — Hacking Human Attachment: The Loneliness Crisis, Cognitive Atrophy, and Other Personal Dangers of AI - The Great Simplification
Mainstream conversations about artificial intelligence tend to center around the technology’s economic and large-scale impacts. Yet it’s at the individual level where we’re seeing AI’s most potent effects, and they may not be what you think. Even in the limited time that AI chatbots have been publicly available (like Claude, ChatGPT, Perplexity, etc.), studies show that our increasing reliance on them wears down our ability to think and communicate effectively, and even erodes our capacity to nurture healthy attachments to others. In essence, AI is atrophying the skills that sit at the core of what it means to be human. Can we as a society pause to consider the risks this technology poses to our well-being, or will we keep barreling forward with its development until it’s too late?
A Treatise on AI Chatbots Undermining the Enlightenment
On chatbot sycophancy, passivity, and the case for more intellectually challenging companions
A Treatise on AI Chatbots Undermining the Enlightenment
On chatbot sycophancy, passivity, and the case for more intellectually challenging companions
Americans are increasingly concerned about AI exacerbating mental health problems
One in 10 Americans (10%) say they definitely (2%) or probably (8%) could form a deep emotional bond with an AI chatbot companion.
AI’s ‘Delusional Spirals’ (and What to Do About Them) | Stanford HAI
In a world where chatbots can stand in for friends, counselors, and even lovers, the mental health risks are a growing concern.
‘It’s the most empathetic voice in my life’: How AI is transforming the lives of neurodivergent people
AI tools like ChatGPT are helping neurodivergent users communicate more clearly and confidently — though some experts warn that overreliance could come at a cost.
Using AI for advice or other personal reasons is linked to depression and anxiety
A new survey found that people who spend more time with chatbots for social interactions or emotional support were likelier to report mental health symptoms.
New research: AI chatbots may worsen mental illness
A new study from Aarhus University and Aarhus University Hospital suggests that the use of AI chatbots such as ChatGPT can have serious negative consequences for people with mental illness. The researchers are calling for increased awareness among healthcare professionals and for regulation.
AI chatbots are becoming experts at changing people's minds. What's their secret?
ChatGPT and other AIs use a flood of facts, and the occasional lie, to persuade humans
Americans' Views on AI Chatbots, Smart Devices and AI's Impact
More Americans are using chatbots, and some are adopting AI summaries and smart speakers. But views about AI and how fast it’s advancing tilt negative – even for younger adults.
An Alarming Number of Gen Z AI Users Think It's Conscious
The majority of young people use AI, and they try to be polite when interacting with chatbots like ChatGPT, but some might have too much of an attachment to it, according to a new study.
Experts Caution Against Using AI Chatbots for Emotional Support
TC faculty break down the risks of using artificial intelligence for emotional support, and what a healthier AI future might look like
Anthropomorphism in AI Companion Communities: Age, Gender, and Emotional Correlates
Artificial intelligence (AI) systems are increasingly integrated into daily life, with millions now using AI chatbots built on Large Language Models (LLMs) for companionship. Both humanlike AI qualities and user predispositions to anthropomorphize relate to social consequences, such as increased trust, social health benefits, and psychological harms. Populations such as children, older adults, or those with mental health vulnerabilities may be particularly susceptible to anthropomorphism and its detriments, but mixed findings complicate the role of demographics. We used publicly available Reddit data from three popular AI companion subreddits to assess relationships between gender, age, anthropomorphism, and elicited emotions, to better understand how different people perceive and are affected by AI companions. We investigated three questions: How do age and gender relate to anthropomorphization of AI?, How does emotional expression relate to anthropomorphization?, and How do age and gender moderate emotion-anthropomorphization relationships? We found that adults and women anthropomorphize AI chatbots more than teens and men, and that positive emotional expression, particularly joy, is positively associated with anthropomorphization, while neutrality is negatively associated with anthropomorphism. Both relationships were stronger in adults than teens. Our findings suggest that the tendency to anthropomorphize may be more broadly distributed across age groups than previously expected, thereby prompting the reevaluation of existing digital safety norms.
AI is teaching us to speak like bots, and it’s a problem - Fast Company
AI is creeping into our everyday conversations, making us less patient and teaching us to 'prompt' others instead of talking to them.
