According to a new study conducted by OpenAI and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), individuals who use AI-based chatbots such as ChatGPT more frequently may experience increased feelings of loneliness. The study found that prolonged interactions with AI can reduce the time users spend with their social circles.

Using ChatGPT can increase feelings of loneliness

The research was carried out for four weeks on about a thousand people from different backgrounds. Participants were encouraged to chat with ChatGPT for at least five minutes a day. While some participants had free conversations, others talked about personal or impersonal topics.

According to the data obtained, it was found that conversations with artificial intelligence directly affect emotional experiences and long-term use can increase the feeling of loneliness.

In the study, it was observed that chatting about personal issues increases the feeling of loneliness in the short term, but talking about impersonal topics also unexpectedly increases the risk of emotional attachment.

In the analyses, it was determined that individuals who are more emotionally attached to human relationships tend to form a similar bond with chatbots. In the second phase of the research, 3 million ChatGPT conversations were analysed through software and questions were asked about how users interacted with chatbots.

Although it was found that most of the users did not use artificial intelligence for emotional support, it was observed that the commitment to artificial intelligence was high in certain groups. The possible psychological effects of such technologies, especially for young people and individuals with mental health problems, continue to be a subject of debate.