Hey, Siri: How Companionate AI Usage Affects Social Satisfaction and Personal Intelligence

Abstract

Artificial intelligence is a field that is growing and changing faster than humanity can keep up. While part of the population is benefiting from its unmatched diagnostic power, increased productivity in school and in work, and even its surgical and therapeutic contributions, others are filing lawsuits based on claims that an AI chatbot was a key factor in the mental health crisis of someone they loved. Research has found that reliance on these AI-generated conversational agents can lead to social withdrawal, unrealistic relationship expectations, addictive tendencies, and, in the worst cases, increased or encouraged suicidal ideations, especially in vulnerable populations. One thing has become clear: the trend of socializing with an AI is having detrimental effects on our ability to socialize with each other. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationships among three general variables: socioemotional attributes, quality and satisfaction in human relationships, and usage of artificial intelligence for companionship purposes. 346 undergraduate psychology students at the University of New Hampshire were surveyed online through the institution’s SONA system. Results from the composite survey were interpreted using IBS SPSS Statistics. Factor analysis identified two distinct features of companionate AI usage: conversational exchanges and more specific role interactions. Both of these applications were found to show negative correlations between companionate AI usage and personal intelligence as well as interpersonal relationship quality. A positive correlation was also identified between companionate AI usage and the Big Five characteristic of conscientiousness. The implications of these findings suggest that there may be a relationship between overreliance on AI companions and decreased social wellbeing.

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