Artificial Affections: How Users Are Emotionally Connecting to AI

We are living through an epidemic of loneliness. At the same time, the sophistication of artificial intelligence and intelligent chats continues at a rapid pace. It is in this context that the ethical discussion about AI goes beyond the fear that it will take our jobs or that machines will revolt against humans. AI is gaining ground as a “confidant,” “advisor,” and “companion.”

This is what the study Artificial Intelligence in Real Life, conducted by the research company Talk Inc., points out. The study shows how Brazilians are using AI tools in practice. One thousand people were interviewed, from all regions of the country, from different social classes, who work in different sectors.

“The WHO declared in 2023 that we are experiencing an epidemic of loneliness. Research in the US shows a huge decline in the average number of friends young people have (with people reporting having none),” says Carla Mayumi, founding partner of Talk Inc.

“In Brazil, we have also seen cases of loneliness in people who live alone or who have little time to spend with their family. This encourages a search for ‘someone’ who listens, is present all the time, who does not judge, who shows ’empathy’, keeps your information and talks to you.”

In the recent phenomenon of conversational AIs, there is a growing tendency to anthropomorphize these tools. Even more so when the “entity” on the other side has a voice. This causes many users to create some kind of affection or emotional attachment.

In September, OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, released a report expressing concern that people could end up using the tool too much as a companion, potentially leading to “addiction.”

That fear has been heightened with the launch of ChatGPT’s advanced voice mode, which sounds incredibly realistic, responds in real time, can adjust to interruptions, and reproduce the types of sounds people make during conversations, as well as assess the speaker’s emotional state based on their tone of voice.

According to OpenAI’s report, “users can form social relationships with AI, reducing their need for human interaction — potentially benefiting lonely individuals, but possibly harming healthy relationships.”

This attachment is heightened when we consider how sophisticated these tools have become. One of the first unicorn startups using affective AI is Character.AI, founded by former Google employees. The company offers avatars of people, such as loved ones who have passed away.

Hume AI, co-founded by Alan Cowen, who used to work on emotional technology at Facebook, focuses on empathetic voice interfaces. He says they “specialize in empathetic personalities that speak like people, not like a virtual assistant.”

THE BRAZILIAN WAY OF COMMUNICATION

The Talk Inc. study concludes that Brazilians, being more communicative, give match in the conversational style of tools like ChatGPT, which reproduces the natural way of conversing and does not require writing skills to respond.

“The fact that smart chats were launched for free, making it easier to use in any language, was a fundamental factor in ChatGPT being used today by Brazilians of all classes and ages,” explains João Paulo Cavalcanti, co-founder and head of futures at TALK Inc.

“In Brazil, ChatGPT has become almost a massively recognized brand of intelligent chatbots. People refer to any chat as GPT, even giving it affectionate nicknames.”

For Domenico Massareto, founder of RAIN, an artificial intelligence startup for marketing and advertising, from the point of view of assertiveness, Brazilians are less direct than North Americans and much less direct than Europeans. And their language is very different in its colloquium, with the presence of slang and expressions that humanize and situate conversations in well-defined contexts of emotional charge.

“The growing understanding capacity of these assistants also expands the vocabulary of use between Brazilians and AIs: before, we spoke to them using commands such as ‘play music’, ‘write an email’, etc. Today, we have more natural conversations,” he says.

But he warns: “We are social mammals. We want and need emotional connection. The risk lies in the ethics of the company that will own these ‘relationships.”

MY FRIEND, IA

This type of conversation, in the Brazilian style, makes many people see these tools as true partners. Those interviewed in the research even describe these chats as work colleagues, or their own memory.

The research presents stories of people who used AI as a partner in decision-making. In one of them, a young woman sought advice from AI on a diet. She ended up seeing a doctor after becoming malnourished. In another case, a 70-year-old man used the tool to look for a job. He accepted the suggestion of becoming a broker and had already sold two properties.

Respondents say they use the tool as a friend or advisor to resolve personal issues. “AI is not a substitute for psychologists, coaches or any human being,” says Jefferson Denti, chief disruption officer at consulting firm Deloitte.

“AI tools are great co-pilots for operational issues, but I don’t recommend them as an advisor. There are risks of emotional dependence, exposure of personal information and inappropriate recommendations for the user,” says Denti.

WILL YOU MARRY ME?

As an example of the story portrayed in the film Herfrom 2013, in which the protagonist falls in love with a voice operating system, there are cases of people who live in an emotional relationship with AIs – mainly in Asia.

Respondents were asked what they thought of this type of relationship. Seven in 10 believe it should not be allowed. But for 31%, people should have the right to marry an artificial intelligence.

For Domenico Massareto, founder of RAIN, an artificial intelligence startup for marketing and advertising, this aspect of emotional dependence is part of the business model. “We are social mammals. We want and need emotional connection. The risk lies in the ethics of the company that will own these ‘relationships.’

For him, “an AI that manipulates people, making them dependent, would be no different from what already happens today with feeds of TikTok and Instagram, built to hack and capture human attention.”

Therefore, the research highlights the importance of ensuring that the increasing use of AI is accompanied by transparency and accountability measures, minimizing risks such as data manipulation, algorithmic biases and increased social inequality.

AI AS AN ASSISTANT

According to a survey by Talk, 57% of people use virtual assistants for daily tasks. From organizing schedules to setting reminders, these AIs have made everyday life easier. Virtual assistants, such as Alexa and Google Assistant, have become an essential part of many people’s routines.

“We are already beginning to imagine a future where your assistant will be your ‘twin’, your virtual assistant, who will make everything more productive. We are just beginning to explore the full potential that these technologies have to offer,” says Carla.

For Talk Inc., there is not enough knowledge yet to understand the effect created by the accelerated trend of “artificial affection”. “The tendency is for us to believe (and different experts raise this point) that as a company, ‘an AI is better than nothing’”, says Carla.

“All of this is an indication that artificial affections have really arrived to occupy a space in our lives. Think about the Pet revolution, which is not even that old. They are everywhere, easing the solitude and loneliness of people in the digital age. Now, think that all kinds of digital companionship could be created.”