A study on the association between increased use of ChatGPT and increased loneliness

A joint study by OpenAI and MIT found that long-term use of chatbots such as ChatGPT increases users' loneliness and reduces social activities. Research shows that users who frequently talk to ChatGPT are more likely to develop emotional dependence and report higher feelings of loneliness. This result comes from two studies that have not yet been peer-reviewed.

Since ChatGPT was launched, generative artificial intelligence technology has been rapidly popularized, and users have used it to perform various activities such as programming and psychotherapy. However, as the interaction deepens, users may form emotional connections similar to "one-way relationships", causing concerns about emotional harm.

OpenAI's study tracked the use of nearly 1,000 participants for a month and found that users who trust more in chatbots are more likely to feel lonely. Another study analyzed 3 million user conversations and found that few people use ChatGPT for emotional communication.

The researchers stressed that these results need to be interpreted with caution, the study did not control the usage time and was not compared with the control group that did not use chatbots. They hope these findings will drive more research on human interaction with artificial intelligence.