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.
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: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.
arXiv:2608. 10672v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: Social interaction has become one of the most common uses of LLMs, yet research on emotional bonds with AI has focused largely on how users experience these systems, leaving the systems' role in relationship formation poorly understood.
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...
The study examines how teens interact with companion AI chatbots, revealing that these systems offer comfort, recognition, identity exploration, and relationship rehearsal. However, teens also experience problematic attachment, social substitution, emotional dependence, and disruptions to academic and social life. The findings highlight the need for safety measures that address long‑term relationships, user‑controlled memory, privacy, relational boundaries, and healthy disengagement.
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:2607. 17826v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: Despite the growing availability of customizable social artificial intelligence (AI), such as ChatGPT, Grok, and Character.
arXiv:2605. 08093v2 Announce Type: replace-cross Abstract: The use of chatbots for various forms of companionship is growing rapidly, raising a myriad of questions about simulated relationships, emotional dependence, and psychological harm.
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:2608. 11794v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: The growing role of AI-generated content and AI-enabled systems in public communication has led regulators to demand clear disclosure of content provenance and AI involvement.
The growing role of AI-generated content and AI-enabled systems in public communication has led regulators to demand clear disclosure of content provenance and AI involvement. But the effects of such disclosures remain uncertain.
arXiv:2608.21841v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Conversational AI increasingly shapes consequential decisions, yet users have limited support for recognizing and resisting manipulation. We present AI...