Daily Arxiv

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A Longitudinal Randomized Control Study of Companion Chatbot Use: Anthropomorphism and Its Mediating Role on Social Impacts

Created by
  • Haebom

Author

Rose E. Guingrich, Michael S. A. Graziano

A study on the impact of relationships with social AI agents on human relationships.

Outline

This study focused on the growing phenomenon of relationships with social AI agents and investigated the impact of these relationships on human relationships. One hundred and eighty-three participants were randomly assigned to either converse with a social AI chatbot or play a text-based word game for 21 days. Changes in participants' social health and relationships were tracked through four surveys and two audio-recorded interviews. The study found that the 21-day interactions with the chatbot did not significantly impact participants' social health or relationships compared to the control group. However, individuals with a high need for social connection tended to anthropomorphize the chatbot more. Those who anthropomorphized the chatbot more reported that their interactions with the chatbot had a greater impact on their social interactions with family and friends. The results suggest that the impact of human-AI interactions on human-human social outcomes is mediated by the degree to which people anthropomorphize the AI agent, which in turn is related to their need for social connection.

Takeaways, Limitations

21 days of chatbot interaction did not negatively impact overall social health or relationships.
People with a high need for social connection are more likely to anthropomorphize chatbots, and this tendency can impact human-to-human relationships.
We have identified anthropomorphism as an important mediator of the impact of human-AI interactions on human-human relationships.
It is difficult to determine long-term effects from a study of only 21 days.
The study subjects may be limited to a specific population group, which may limit generalizability.
The interaction method with the chatbot is limited (text-based) and does not consider various interaction methods.
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