AI could lead to loneliness and insomnia
Source: Asia Insurance Review | Sep 2023
Employees frequently interact with AI systems are more likely to experience loneliness that can lead to insomnia according to new research published by the American Psychological Association (APA).
The research, ‘No Person Is an Island: Unpacking the Work and After-work Consequences of Interacting with Artificial Intelligence’, published online in the Journal of Applied Psychology, conducted four sets of experiments in the US, Taiwan, Indonesia and Malaysia and the findings were consistent across cultures.
University of Georgia assistant professor and lead researcher Pok Man Tang said, “The rapid advancement in AI systems is sparking a new industrial revolution that is reshaping the workplace with many benefits but also some uncharted dangers, including potentially damaging mental and physical impacts for employees.”
He said, “Humans are social animals, and isolating work with AI systems may have damaging spillover effects into employees’ personal lives.”
In addition, the report states that working with AI systems may have some benefits. The researchers found that employees who frequently used AI systems were more likely to offer help to fellow employees, but that response may have been triggered by their loneliness and need for social contact.
However, the research team said the findings are only correlational and don’t prove that work with AI systems causes loneliness or the other responses, just that there is an association among them. A