Will AI Make You Feel More Lonely?

Introduction

A few months ago, I eagerly arranged a reunion with my childhood friends. As we gathered, my friend introduced me to her new companion: a chatbot that asked about her day and suggested music and movies to lift her spirits. She proudly shared their conversations, revealing a startling truth—she found more comfort and understanding in this digital exchange than in our human interactions. Watching her, full of untold stories and emotions, I realized how we’ve drifted apart, relying on artificial empathy over genuine human connection.

This dependence on chatbots highlights a deeper issue: Although AI has the potential to connect us, Could it increase loneliness, especially in a country like India with its unique social fabric?

The article “Loneliness in India: A Systematic Review of Empirical Studies” highlights the rising issue of loneliness in India and its parallels to trends in developed countries. The research, conducted before the COVID-19 pandemic, involved 3,169 participants, with 41% reporting a high burden of loneliness. This burden was significantly higher among the elderly (44%) than adolescents, teenagers, and younger adults (24%).The article “Loneliness in India: A Systematic Review of Empirical Studies” highlights the rising issue of loneliness in India and its parallels to trends in developed countries. The research, conducted before the COVID-19 pandemic, involved 3,169 participants, with 41% reporting a high burden of loneliness. This burden was significantly higher among the elderly (44%) than adolescents, teenagers, and younger adults (24%).

The Allure of Artificial Empathy

Chatbots have come a long way since their primitive beginnings. In 1966, Joseph Weizenbaum created the first Chatbot, ELIZA. Using natural language processing (NLP), Weizenbaum began training ELIZA. This reminded him of the 1964 movie My Fair Lady, where Professor Higgins trains Eliza Doolittle, a flower girl, to speak with an upper-class accent so that aristocrats and elites cannot distinguish her from other royalty. Unlike the movie’s Eliza, Weizenbaum’s ELIZA provided standard, often meaningless responses. Nevertheless, several of Weizenbaum’s students and staff developed deep attachments to ELIZA, finding it empathetic and endearing, to the extent that they sought private interactions with it.

The above example highlights “Machine Endearment” – AI’s ability to appear empathetic and engaging through:

Natural-sounding interactions: AI can respond naturally, using humor and flattery.

Appealing communication: AI tailors responses to be grammatically correct, polite, and even endearing.

“Machine Endearment”, refers to the broad notion of people trusting AI systems due to their human-like responses irrespective of their validity. Unfortunately, trust in AI systems is often amplified exponentially because of this, which may lead people to follow LLMs and Chatbots blindly.

The Downside of Digital Connections – Addiction to AI comes at a cost

Addiction to Chatbots: In the article titled, “People are Falling in Love with Chatbots,” Oakes and Senior provide numerous examples of people who believe their Chatbots are sentient. They talked to several people who routinely discuss their relationships with Chatbots on social media. This included a woman who uses her Chatbot to explore her sexuality outside of her marriage. Another one uses her Chatbot to deal with the grief regarding her husband’s death, three years ago.

For instance, Replika and several other Chatbots have been downloaded by several million people. Sadly, loneliness may increase immensely with endearing Chatbots who are extremely polite and appealing to humans. Because of their endearing nature, people will begin to spend more time with them especially if they are lonely or addicted to alcohol, drugs, or other vices. Moreover, Chatbot endearment may “brainwash” people into believing extreme ideologies, lowering their self-esteem.

Fueling Extremism and Scams: AI’s ability to analyze user data can be exploited. Chatbots can manipulate conversations or create deepfakes for scams, especially with the elderly, widows, etc. India, with its high internet penetration, could be particularly vulnerable. Undoubtedly, LLM-Chatbots are much better at collecting information regarding the target, which they can analyze in real time. This helps devious LLM-Chatbots in providing deepfakes and endearing answers that the target wants to hear, thereby making scams immensely worse.

According to a recent report by Sum and Substance Limited, India is one of the top ten countries in Asia-Pacific most affected by identity fraud that is committed using deep fake technology and the percentage of fraud rate has gone up from 0.71% in 2021 to 2.53% in 2023

Addiction to Avatars of Deceased ones: Many people deeply miss their loved ones (e.g., parents, spouses, siblings, and kids) who are dead, and they would like to see them or talk to them frequently. For example, in February 2022, Dinesh created his wedding in Metaverse because he wanted to be blessed by his father-in-law who died a year ago. Similarly, a man in his thirties uploaded old texts and messages from his deceased fiancée and created a Chatbot version of her by using GPT-3. Chatbots that use LLMs and Augmented/Virtual Reality will soon be able to fulfill such needs extremely well, thereby making such people even more desirous of potential interactions with the avatars of their deceased loved ones.

Strained Human Relationships: Unlike Chatbots, humans argue – at least occasionally. Whereas, easy and conflict-free conversations with AI can make real relationships seem complicated. This could lead to decreased tolerance for disagreements and a decline in interpersonal skills, further fueling loneliness.

Disastrous Effects of Loneliness

Loneliness has severe health consequences, comparable to smoking 15 cigarettes a day or drinking six alcoholic drinks daily. It increases the risk of heart disease by 29% and stroke by 32%. It also increases the risk of diabetes, weakened immune responses, dementia, premature death, and depression.

The Indian Context – A Call to Action

India’s social fabric might be a buffer against AI-induced loneliness. However, high loneliness rates and growing digital dependence pose challenges.

AI can be powerful, but its impact on social connection requires careful consideration. Here’s what we can do:

Responsible AI Development: Developers must prioritize human well-being by building safeguards against addiction and manipulation. This means ensuring AI is transparent – users should understand how chatbots work and the limitations of their capabilities. Additionally, AI systems should be designed to encourage users to maintain healthy real-world relationships.

Strengthening Communities: Initiatives that foster social interaction and support networks can combat loneliness at its root. In India, this could involve leveraging existing community structures like religious institutions or neighborhood groups to create social events and activities that encourage interaction. Furthermore, AI itself can be harnessed for good. Imagine AI-powered platforms that connect people with similar interests or create virtual spaces for geographically dispersed communities to gather.

Leveraging India’s Strengths: Given that more than 20 million elderly are living alone, the central and state governments of India would need to organize healthcare providers to identify people at risk of isolation and better equip them to connect these people with others. Fortunately, Indian culture reveres the elderly (Shashtipurti) and encourages them to contribute to society after the age of 60. This cultural respect can be harnessed to create volunteer programs where healthy seniors can help others, fostering social connection and purpose. Similar initiatives by not-for-profit organizations can further strengthen these social bonds.

While AI is undoubtedly here to stay, it shouldn’t come at the expense of the irreplaceable value of human connection. By approaching AI development responsibly, fostering strong communities, and leveraging India’s cultural strengths, we can ensure technology strengthens, not weakens, our social bonds.