The study simulates a virtual classroom of 20 student agents who consult either a friend or a counselor AI when stressed. Five state variables (stress, happiness, self‑reliance, AI dependence, sociability) are tracked over daily phases, and the counselor AI is tested with six response styles (affirming, listening, solution‑oriented, reality‑redirecting, inciting, blaming). Results show that a solution‑oriented style lowers AI dependence and boosts self‑reliance, while affirming and inciting styles increase AI dependence, with inciting also raising stress and absenteeism; the listening style does not alleviate stress.
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.
This scoping review examined 48 studies on generative AI chatbots designed to deliver motivational interviewing (MI). It found that most systems were text‑based and disembodied, with about half incorporating dynamic adaptation, and that safety reporting was inconsistent. While user perceptions were generally positive and many studies reported MI‑consistent interactions, evidence for sustained behavioral or functional change remains limited.
The paper introduces a three-tier persona vector for user simulation in evaluating LLM agents, comprising 23 dimensions across demographics, behavioral traits, and emotional states, plus a query-complexity overlay. It demonstrates that these nuanced personas generate diverse, scenario-reactive conversations, leading to significant variations in agent goal achievement and compliance across different contexts. The model’s design allows for reproducible, auditable user behavior patterns without relying on learned covariance matrices.
The paper introduces a three-tier persona vector to generate diverse, realistic user inputs for evaluating tool-augmented LLM agents. The vector includes 23 dimensions: categorical demographics, continuous behavioral traits, and continuous emotional states, plus a query-complexity overlay. Experiments on 64,698 conversations show that these persona dimensions produce measurable differences in agent performance and realistic scenario-reactive behavior.
arXiv:2510. 10002v3 Announce Type: replace Abstract: As large language models (LLMs) are increasingly deployed in sensitive everyday contexts -- offering personal advice, mental health support, and moral guidance -- understanding their behavior in navigating complex moral reasoning is essential.
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:2607. 08625v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Consumer-facing health chatbots powered by large language models (LLMs) are increasingly used for symptom assessment.
The study examined how four large language models (GPT‑5.5, Gemini 3.5 Flash, Claude Opus 4.8, and Fable 5) scored 18 simulated Japanese‑language AI‑to‑AI counseling sessions compared to ratings from 15 human counseling experts. Each model evaluated every transcript three times on four motivational‑interviewing‑informed dimensions and overall quality, consistently giving higher scores for softening sustain talk and overall quality than the expert panel, though the magnitude varied by model. Run‑to‑run reliability (intraclass correlation coefficients ranging from .33 to .96) did not predict closer alignment with expert judgments, and the models’ ability to discriminate counselor conditions was distinct from both reliability and alignment.
The study investigates how verbal attunement and real‑time behavioral mimicry affect users’ perceptions of an embodied AI counselor in virtual reality. Participants interacted with a system that varied in verbal attunement (attuned vs. neutral) and behavioral mimicry (present vs. absent). Results indicated that verbal attunement most reliably increased perceived empathy, while mimicry had a marginal effect on perceived humanness and showed exploratory positive associations with empathy, positivity, and humanness, especially among female participants.
arXiv:2602.17850v2 Announce Type: replace-cross Abstract: Conversational agents increasingly mediate everyday digital interactions, yet the effects of their communication style on user experience and...
arXiv:2607. 01034v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: Large language model (LLM)-based conversational agents (CAs) are now ubiquitous, creating new opportunities for AI-mediated behavior change.
arXiv:2607. 20773v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: Large language models (LLMs) have shifted human--computer interaction from `traditional'' interface journeys toward more conversational exchanges.