Despite the growing availability of customizable social artificial intelligence (AI), such as ChatGPT, Grok, and Character. ai, we know little about how users actively shape social AI to reflect their personal preferences.
arXiv:2607. 17826v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: Despite the growing availability of customizable social artificial intelligence (AI), such as ChatGPT, Grok, and Character.
arXiv:2606. 04150v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Public discourse and emerging policy typically assume that AI emotional support is a deliberate act: a lonely user consciously seeking comfort from a dedicated companion chatbot.
The study investigates when work done with AI feels like one's own, using a qualitative survey where participants described tasks that felt owned versus not owned. Findings show that ownership depends on the collaboration process: people feel ownership when they lead, iterate, or rewrite, but disown work when merely approving AI suggestions. Ownership also extends to tasks where people set the vision but rely on AI for execution, yet loss of personal voice and lack of comprehension erode ownership, and willingness to disclose AI use is driven more by community norms than by pride.
arXiv:2509. 02910v2 Announce Type: replace-cross Abstract: Large language models (LLMs) increasingly act on people's behalf: they write emails, buy groceries, and book restaurants.
arXiv:2608.23196v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: People increasingly face a novel decision when seeking emotional support: human or AI. In existing studies, AI's empathic messages are rated as well as...
arXiv:2606. 12350v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: The rapid proliferation of large language models (LLMs) raises critical questions about human creativity and individual expression in an era of AI-assisted creation.
arXiv:2607. 25057v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: As conversational AI systems become increasingly integrated into daily life, their potential effects on user well-being require ongoing attention.
The paper proposes a new class of relational AI called Significant Other Artificial Intelligence (SO‑AI), designed to emulate the stabilizing role of human significant others by providing identity awareness, long‑term memory, proactive support, narrative co‑construction, and ethical boundary enforcement. It outlines a conceptual architecture featuring an anthropomorphic interface, a relational cognition layer, and a governance layer, and presents a research agenda for evaluating identity stability, interaction patterns, narrative development, and sociocultural impact. The authors argue that SO‑AI could fill the relational anchor gap many people experience today, offering a blueprint for responsibly augmenting long‑term, identity‑bearing partnerships between humans and AI.
The paper examines how users handle harmful value conflicts with AI companions. By analyzing 146 posts and conducting a week-long study with 22 participants using the Minion technology probe, the authors find that users blend softer and harder strategies, especially when conflicts involve Universalism and Tradition values. The study highlights that such conflicts create asymmetric responsibility, with users shouldering unilateral repair work that AI companions cannot reciprocate, suggesting a need for platform-level safeguards.
arXiv:2609.00250v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: Many people now see AI systems as not just productivity tools but as social companions. Researchers are eager to study the consequences of AI compani...
arXiv:2606. 09832v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: As AI systems evolve from single conversational agents to complex multi-agent architectures, a critical design dimension has been overlooked: how the social identity of individual agents shapes human behavior within the collaboration.
Caregivers often turn to online communities for informational and emotional support. In these spaces, peer supporters frequently draw on personal narratives to respond to emotionally complex caregiving situations.