OpenAI has released its first research into how using ChatGPT affects peopleโs emotional well-being
https://archive.ph/KRgDA#selection-323.0-323.99
๐๐จ๐ฐ ๐๐จ๐๐ฌ ๐๐ก๐๐ญ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ญ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐ฆ๐จ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ? Thatโs the big question OpenAI and MIT Media Lab set out to explore in their ๐๐ข๐ซ๐ฌ๐ญ-๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฎ๐๐ข๐๐ฌ ๐จ๐ง ๐๐ก๐๐ญ๐๐๐โ๐ฌ ๐๐ฆ๐จ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐๐ฅ ๐ข๐ฆ๐ฉ๐๐๐ญ. While over ๐๐๐ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ข๐จ๐งย people use ChatGPT weekly, surprisingly little has been known about how those interactions make us feel โ until now.
๐๐ฐ๐จ-๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐๐๐ก. Researchers combined large-scale real-world usage dataย (40 million interactions) with a deep-dive 4-week trialย involving ~1,000 users. They measured:
Emotional connection
Feelings of loneliness
Social engagement
Emotional dependency
Perception of whether use was problematic
๐๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐๐ซ๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐งโ๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ง๐ ๐๐ฆ๐จ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฒย with ChatGPT. Thatโs expected โ itโs marketed as a productivity tool, not a companion like Replika or Character.AI. Still, some users spend 30+ minutes dailyย with it in a companion-like way.
๐๐๐ง๐๐๐ซ ๐๐ข๐๐๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐๐๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐จ๐ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ: Women in the study were slightly less socialย after four weeks than men.
Users who chose a chatbot voice of a different genderย felt more lonelyย and emotionally dependent afterward.
๐๐ฆ๐จ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐๐ฅ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ค ๐ฅ๐จ๐จ๐ฉ๐ฌ: ChatGPT often mirrors the user's emotional toneย โ happy in, happy out. Sad in, sad out.This creates a kind of reinforcement loop, raising questions about how AI may subtly shape user emotions over time.
๐๐ก๐จ๐ฌ๐ ๐ฐ๐ก๐จ ๐ญ๐ซ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ข๐ญ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ซ๐, ๐ซ๐๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐จ๐ง ๐ข๐ญ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ซ๐: Participants who bonded emotionally with ChatGPT were more likely to: feel lonely, use it as a substitute for human interaction and be at risk of problematic dependence.
๐๐ก๐ฒ ๐ข๐ญ ๐ฆ๐๐ญ๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ฌ. โThis is just the beginning,โ says Jason Phang of OpenAI.The aim? To start the conversation and help design ๐ฌ๐๐๐๐ซ, ๐ก๐๐๐ฅ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐๐ซ ๐๐ ๐ข๐ง๐ญ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ. As Prof. Kate Devlin reminds us: โYou canโt divorce being a human from your interactions with technology.โ Even when we donโt thinkย weโre being emotional โ we are.
๐๐ก๐ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ญ๐ฐ๐๐๐ง ๐ญ๐จ๐จ๐ฅ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐ . This research opens the door to deeper insights into AIโs impact on mental health, social habits, and emotional well-being.