this post was submitted on 25 Mar 2025
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How chatbots could spark the next big mental health crisis. (www.platformer.news)
submitted 2 days ago by Tea@programming.dev to c/technology@lemmy.world
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New research from OpenAI shows that heavy chatbot usage is correlated with loneliness and reduced socialization. Will AI companies learn from social networks' mistakes?

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[–] MagicShel@lemmy.zip 32 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Note that these studies aren’t suggesting that heavy ChatGPT usage directly causes loneliness. Rather, it suggests that lonely people are more likely to seek emotional bonds with bots

The important question here is: do lonely people seek out interaction with AI or does AI create lonely people? The article clearly acknowledges this and then treats the latter like the likely conclusion. It definitely merits greater study.

[–] taladar@sh.itjust.works 12 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Or does AI prey on lonely people much like other types of scams do?

[–] MagicShel@lemmy.zip 6 points 2 days ago (2 children)

It's not sentient and has no agenda. It's fair to say suggest that advertise themselves as "AI companions" appeal to / prey on lonely people.

It's not a scam unless it purports to be a real person.

[–] taladar@sh.itjust.works 8 points 2 days ago

Well, I was more using the term in terms of the industry than the actual software. The thought of AI of the kind we currently have having intentions of its own didn't even occur to me.

[–] Arkouda@lemmy.ca 5 points 2 days ago

It’s not sentient and has no agenda.

The Humans who program them are and do.

[–] Enkers@sh.itjust.works 4 points 2 days ago

The AI industry certainly does.

If you're going to use an LLM, it's pretty straightforward to roll your own with something like LM Studio, though.