Dark side of AI companionship: Can frequent use of ChatGPT make you feel lonely? OpenAI study claims it does

According to a study by ChatGPT maker OpenAI, frequent interactions with the chatbot can cause users to experience higher levels of loneliness.

A recent study conducted by OpenAI has revealed a disturbing truth about excessive use of ChatGPT, especially for companionship. The study claims that the frequent users of the chatbot, the “power users,” often feel increased loneliness and emotional dependence on the AI. MIT Media Labs also conducted a parallel study on the same subject matter.

Reportedly, some "power users" consider ChatGPT a friend with “human-like emotions”. (Unsplash/Lukas Rychvalsky, olenfeyissa)

What does the study say?

The study is titled: “Investigating Affective Use and Emotional Well-being on ChatGPT”. A portion of the abstract from the study reads, “As AI chatbots see increased adoption and integration into everyday life, questions have been raised about the potential impact of human-like or anthropomorphic AI on users. In this work, we investigate the extent to which interactions with ChatGPT (with a focus on Advanced Voice Mode) may impact users’ emotional well-being, behaviors and experiences.” OpenAI and MIT Media Labs performed parallel studies to investigate the matter.

Close to 1,000 participants took part in the experiment, which the researchers conducted as a randomised controlled trial over 28 days. A researcher wrote in the study, “Overall, higher daily usage–across all modalities and conversation types–correlated with higher loneliness, dependence, and problematic use and lower socialization.”

“These findings underscore the complex interplay between chatbot design choices (e.g., voice expressiveness) and user behaviors (e.g., conversation content, usage frequency). We highlight the need for further research on whether chatbots’ ability to manage emotional content without fostering dependence or replacing human relationships benefits overall well-being,” an MIT researcher wrote in the study's abstract.

The primary author of the study is OpenAI, with MIT Media Lab as the contributing author.

Does ChatGPT feel anxiety?

A few days ago, a study conducted by the University of Zurich and the University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich claimed that ChatGPT could experience “anxiety" due to violent prompts, leading it to show racist or sexist biases.