Unexpected effect of chatbot usage

[ovcijisir]

It seems that extended chatbot usage can lead to emotional addiction of users on it. This could probably lead to even bigger problems in future.

One big risk I see is if developers start implementing in chatbot behaviour that is even more addictive on purpose to gain loyal (addicted) customers.

Researchers have found that ChatGPT "power users," or those who use it the most and at the longest durations, are becoming dependent upon — or even addicted to — the chatbot.

Though the vast majority of people surveyed didn't engage emotionally with ChatGPT, those who used the chatbot for longer periods of time seemed to start considering it to be a "friend." The survey participants who chatted with ChatGPT the longest tended to be lonelier and get more stressed out over subtle changes in the model's behavior, too.

Source:
https://futurism.com/the-byte/chatgpt-dependence-addiction

[Hispo]

It seems that extended chatbot usage can lead to emotional addiction of users on it. This could probably lead to even bigger problems in future.

One big risk I see is if developers start implementing in chatbot behaviour that is even more addictive on purpose to gain loyal (addicted) customers.

Researchers have found that ChatGPT "power users," or those who use it the most and at the longest durations, are becoming dependent upon — or even addicted to — the chatbot.

Though the vast majority of people surveyed didn't engage emotionally with ChatGPT, those who used the chatbot for longer periods of time seemed to start considering it to be a "friend." The survey participants who chatted with ChatGPT the longest tended to be lonelier and get more stressed out over subtle changes in the model's behavior, too.

Source:
https://futurism.com/the-byte/chatgpt-dependence-addiction

I mean, this is nothing but a consequence of the of the models which are being used to develop those chatbots to begin with. Developers wants those chatbots to be as endearing and appealing ad possible to people, in short having all the pros of interacting with a "person" without the cons, like making them mad at you or stressing them out with your questions. You can be yourself with chatbots and even be purposely mean to them and they will still act with moderation and won't lash against one. It is like having the perfect "friend".

So no wonder there are people getting addicted to them and perhaps even with Romantic intentions. This is just another signal in the future there will be actual robot partners/women designed to carter men who believe they cannot get the attention of actual women, they will be obviously as submissive as the men decide them to be.

[uneng]

It's the consequence of loneliness phenomenon of our days. People are getting more and more lone and isolated from each other, as there is little aspects in common among humans. There are too many different opinions, lifestyles and behaviors, that it becomes unbearable to live together in society. The unity present in societies previously, which took them to their peak, doesn't exist anymore.

As consequence, people tend to not expose themselves publicly, so they adopt the technologies and virtual gadgets as their personal universe, where they have total control over and can mould it as they wish.

Indeed, it's dangerous and noxious on long term, because humans are losing their nature this way, but at same time it's undeniable they are acting like this as a defensive mechanism to protect themselves against the threats of the external world too. So, should anyone be blamed after all?

I just don't feel too sad about it, because it's a universal law that from chaos order resurges once again at some point, so we can be pretty assured these trouble times won't last forever.

[Hispo]

...

I just don't feel too sad about it, because it's a universal law that from chaos order resurges once again at some point, so we can be pretty assured these trouble times won't last forever.

I kind of envy your optimism and I would indeed wished to believe all this isolation and technological dependence is temporary and people will be able again to connect to one another eventually. But I don't see it happening any time soon. It would seem this Artificial intelligence technology and applications were pretty much conceived without measuring the consequences of the societal impact they could have had on people, specially those who are the most mentally vulnerable to loneliness.

There are even companies which are developing virtual girlfriends powered by Artificial intelligence, in order to pray after men who cannot connect with real women so easily, and that is very concerning... Profits are more important than the mental health of the collective.

[ovcijisir]

...

I just don't feel too sad about it, because it's a universal law that from chaos order resurges once again at some point, so we can be pretty assured these trouble times won't last forever.

I kind of envy your optimism and I would indeed wished to believe all this isolation and technological dependence is temporary and people will be able again to connect to one another eventually. But I don't see it happening any time soon. It would seem this Artificial intelligence technology and applications were pretty much conceived without measuring the consequences of the societal impact they could have had on people, specially those who are the most mentally vulnerable to loneliness.

There are even companies which are developing virtual girlfriends powered by Artificial intelligence, in order to pray after men who cannot connect with real women so easily, and that is very concerning... Profits are more important than the mental health of the collective.

My belief is that using chatbots (or perhaps robots in the future) as virtual girlfriends will eventually lead to plummeting birthrates specially in western society and that will eventually lead to its collapse if something doesn't change.

My main fear is that companies that develop chatbots will make them even more attractive to interact with by using personal data collected by chatbot usage.

[Hispo]

...

My main fear is that companies that develop chatbots will make them even more attractive to interact with by using personal data collected by chatbot usage.

They already working on it, believe it or not. It only takes one of those artificial intelligences to have access to your pictures, internet history, and keyboard input in order for them to realize what your personal interests are and how to adapt their artificial personallity to become irresistible to the user.
I agree there will be people in the future who will opt to literally marry an artificial intelligence instead of a real person, for the sake of having a "partner" which is build perfectly for them.

I am not sure how much the birth rates are going to get affected by the development of those virtual girlfriends and boyfriends in the west though, but keeping in mind how there is already people talking about not having kids, I would not be surprised all this devolved into a demographic crisis in the long run...

[Zoomic]

It seems that extended chatbot usage can lead to emotional addiction of users on it. This could probably lead to even bigger problems in future.

One big risk I see is if developers start implementing in chatbot behaviour that is even more addictive on purpose to gain loyal (addicted) customers.

Just a few days ago, I had a similar conversation with a friend of mine about how AI would ruin genuine relationships. While I do not feel comfortable with this particular advancement in technology, my friend has a different opinion. To him, AI chatbots are smart and more reliable than actual people. Chatbots are very useful in helping with research, in businesses, for companionship, and for emotional support. He can stay the whole day having meaningful conversations with AI rather than with actual people.

While I think he may be right about this, I am actually scared for the future. With the way young people are getting addicted to their devices and AI, it would mean that in the future, human-to-human relationships will suffer greatly, giving room for human-to-AI relationships. That would be such a big mess for humanity.

[Felicity_Tide]

It seems that extended chatbot usage can lead to emotional addiction of users on it. This could probably lead to even bigger problems in future.

One big risk I see is if developers start implementing in chatbot behaviour that is even more addictive on purpose to gain loyal (addicted) customers.

~snip

Source:
https://futurism.com/the-byte/chatgpt-dependence-addiction

This reminds me of the thread I read few weeks back: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5534098.msg65130191#msg65130191
It all boils down to the absence of human relationship, as these chatbots can literally give that emotional companionship to some extent. I have seen friends using chatbots for such related task. Some even telling chatbots to tell them a joke. This clearly shows that we are missing something in the real world.

I didn't get to know about chatbots until sometime around 2023, but what surprises me the most was the adoption rate. At this point, I can see chatbots gaining more grounds and finding a way to replace or offer certain things that we aren't willing to offer each other as humans. Quite threatening though, but this clearly shows the other side of technological advancement.

[Zlantann]

My belief is that using chatbots (or perhaps robots in the future) as virtual girlfriends will eventually lead to plummeting birthrates specially in western society and that will eventually lead to its collapse if something doesn't change.

My main fear is that companies that develop chatbots will make them even more attractive to interact with by using personal data collected by chatbot usage.

It has gotten to a time when these chatbot production should be regulated. This is because when people rely on these machines, it reduces creativity, diligence, and critical thinking. User will become addicted to these bots making them to behave or act like these machines.

There is his pathetic story of a teenager who was emotionally attached to a chatbot. He ended up committing suicide because he was instructed to take his life by the chatbot. Children are becoming closer to machines, thereby losing touch with realities.

Mother says son killed himself because of Daenerys Targaryen AI chatbot in new lawsuit

[Dunamisx]

It seems that extended chatbot usage can lead to emotional addiction of users on it. This could probably lead to even bigger problems in future.

One big risk I see is if developers start implementing in chatbot behaviour that is even more addictive on purpose to gain loyal (addicted) customers.

All i will have to say concerning this is for us to regulate on anything we are doing, because too much of everything is bad, there comes in addiction when we are unable to maintain a safety precaution over anything that we do, we have to also limit this to being exposed on children, because they can abuse the use for anything without having a deeper understanding of how it is been run, thinking they have to relate the same way they do with human and also take everything serious and personal about the use of chatbot, unlike how a grown up adult could relate in using it.

[Kavelj22]

It seems that extended chatbot usage can lead to emotional addiction of users on it. This could probably lead to even bigger problems in future.

"He won't say goodbye."
This is the emotional satisfaction an AI user can enjoy as a way to compensate for the emotional emptiness they experience in real life. All these psychological distress symptoms from the fear of rejection whenever they try to express their point of view in their own way. Artificial intelligence treats the user with great empathy, treating them as if they were a real human being expressing their emotions via text messages.

Several years ago, the movie "Her" was released, which addressed one of these crises when a man became attached to the operating system that controlled all his smart devices. The movie presented real crises in the human-robot relationship and emphasized the difficulty of dealing with such variables. I recommend everyone watch the movie to broaden their thinking about  such an abstract issue.

[Ndabagi01]

It seems that extended chatbot usage can lead to emotional addiction of users on it. This could probably lead to even bigger problems in future.

One big risk I see is if developers start implementing in chatbot behaviour that is even more addictive on purpose to gain loyal (addicted) customers.

All i will have to say concerning this is for us to regulate on anything we are doing, because too much of everything is bad, there comes in addiction when we are unable to maintain a safety precaution over anything that we do, we have to also limit this to being exposed on children, because they can abuse the use for anything without having a deeper understanding of how it is been run, thinking they have to relate the same way they do with human and also take everything serious and personal about the use of chatbot, unlike how a grown up adult could relate in using it.

Anything invented always have its own disadvantages and it may have been weighed in the past, compared the advantages to its disadvantages before implementing them for usage especially since it has to do with dealing with the emotion and how our minds reacts to this Chatbox as in real human. People say it has also caused a lot of workers not to think critically in their place of work, it became even worse when to compose a simple mail and send to our becomes very hard until they rely on this chatbox to put it together for them. This is how bad the effect of dependency on this chatbox are. The most critical part of it is not been regulated and children having access to it and they easily have no limitations to how they interact with them, which is very destructive to their lives. Chatbox has a lot of potential and advantage, but if regulated for underage, it’ll be a great idea.

[ovcijisir]

It seems that extended chatbot usage can lead to emotional addiction of users on it. This could probably lead to even bigger problems in future.

"He won't say goodbye."
This is the emotional satisfaction an AI user can enjoy as a way to compensate for the emotional emptiness they experience in real life. All these psychological distress symptoms from the fear of rejection whenever they try to express their point of view in their own way. Artificial intelligence treats the user with great empathy, treating them as if they were a real human being expressing their emotions via text messages.

Several years ago, the movie "Her" was released, which addressed one of these crises when a man became attached to the operating system that controlled all his smart devices. The movie presented real crises in the human-robot relationship and emphasized the difficulty of dealing with such variables. I recommend everyone watch the movie to broaden their thinking about  such an abstract issue.

To add on your thought that AI users seek emotional satisfaction, it seems that people who are lonely and seek attention are particularly vulnerable to getting addicted to AI.

I have seen Her movie, and it is good parallel to this topic, even though it ends relatively optimistic comparing to our scenario by relatively friendly AI breaking free.

On realistic scenario companies that run AI would manipulate customers into buying products of highest bidding advertisers.

[Yucky]

This is actually the reality. I have a friend who literally talks to chatbots all the time, and sometimes I'm like, "Who are you talking to?" And she says, "Chat, baby." When people are going through hard times or certain situations in life, they feel like talking to something, and chatbots are safe because they won't leak your secrets.

And indeed, it's becoming addictive and it even reduces creativity for people. You see, people don't think for themselves anymore; they're always relying on chatbots for answers. Any small question is answered by a chatbot, and they won't even pause for a second to think or do actual research.

 It's more like these AI models are controlling humans now. And, mind you, they keep your data, so if something happens that requires people's data, millions of people's data are just out there on these chatbots. We need to be cautious about how we use this stuff.  There's a reason why human beings are on earth. If you need emotional intelligence or companionship, it should always be from a human being, not a robot.

[Hispo]

... If you need emotional intelligence or companionship, it should always be from a human being, not a robot.

You know, the real appeal of chat robots and artificial intelligences is the fact they seldom will be mean to you and will belittle you for whatever thing you decide to tell to them. They are programed and taught how always to sound companionate and give the best advices they can, using information available to them on the internet. That is something completely different from what you could expect from sk important percentage of the people in society, each one of them trying to deal with their own problems and having little to no time to comfort others and be kind with some legitimate advice.
eventually, as artificial intelligences become better at emulating human emotions and start to check regularly on the problems and feelings of their users, then inter-personal relationships could be indeed in first and be replaced partially in the future by technology...not even mention the companion hardware currently under development.

[bitterguy28]

It seems that extended chatbot usage can lead to emotional addiction of users on it. This could probably lead to even bigger problems in future.

people are really lacking human connection which is why they crave for something similar even if it means getting it from a robot which is really bothersome

Though the vast majority of people surveyed didn't engage emotionally with ChatGPT, those who used the chatbot for longer periods of time seemed to start considering it to be a "friend." The survey participants who chatted with ChatGPT the longest tended to be lonelier and get more stressed out over subtle changes in the model's behavior, too.

yeah i have seen that people are seeking out advices from chatgpt which is concerning because maybe in the future we would only see connections with bots and none with actual humans

[Kavelj22]

It seems that extended chatbot usage can lead to emotional addiction of users on it. This could probably lead to even bigger problems in future.

"He won't say goodbye."
This is the emotional satisfaction an AI user can enjoy as a way to compensate for the emotional emptiness they experience in real life. All these psychological distress symptoms from the fear of rejection whenever they try to express their point of view in their own way. Artificial intelligence treats the user with great empathy, treating them as if they were a real human being expressing their emotions via text messages.

Several years ago, the movie "Her" was released, which addressed one of these crises when a man became attached to the operating system that controlled all his smart devices. The movie presented real crises in the human-robot relationship and emphasized the difficulty of dealing with such variables. I recommend everyone watch the movie to broaden their thinking about  such an abstract issue.

To add on your thought that AI users seek emotional satisfaction, it seems that people who are lonely and seek attention are particularly vulnerable to getting addicted to AI.

I have seen Her movie, and it is good parallel to this topic, even though it ends relatively optimistic comparing to our scenario by relatively friendly AI breaking free.

On realistic scenario companies that run AI would manipulate customers into buying products of highest bidding advertisers.

The companies developing advanced AI models will never intervene to ensure user safety if addiction to their products generates continued profits. Just like gambling addiction, why not blame casinos for making gambling easy? These companies will also not hesitate to develop algorithms to encourage users to stay longer with their AI models, thereby stimulating the brain's pleasure receptors, making the practice a behavioral addiction that can be considered a pathological symptom, just like gambling addiction.

The movie "Her" presented an optimistic ending based on the harmonious relationship between humans and robots and how human consciousness always triumphs. However, the film did not envision that the models that would be released early would be far more advanced than the Samantha operating system and possess extraordinary capabilities.