Can AI companions help cure the loneliness epidemic?

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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Can AI make us less lonely? A new generation of artificial-intelligence apps called AI companions is designed to simulate natural conversations and keep people company. AI assistants like ChatGPT can do those things to some extent, but AI companions are designed to respond in a sympathetic, realistic way when you share your thoughts or problems.

They can even role-play, pretending to be your partner, for instance, to practice tough conversations. Most of these programs are still at a relatively early stage, and are just building an audience. So we don’t know yet whether they’ll be a good substitute for people looking for meaningful connection, or instead isolate them from real-world relationships.

But for now, we can test a simple question: Do these AI companions really work? Do they really provide the emotional support that people need, and make them feel less lonely? My studies with my colleagues show that the best of these apps really do work—and work well. People who turn to them to beat loneliness, in large part, get the results that they want. Loneliness—feeling solitude because your level of social connection falls short of what you desire—afflicts one-third of adults globally and is increasing.

It is known to cause mental-health problems like depression and anxiety, as well as physical problems, such as an increased risk of dying for cancer patients. My fellow researchers—Ahmet K. Uǧuralp and Zeliha O.