Employees working with AI more likely to be lonely: Study

According to a study released by the American Psychological Association, employees who are frequently connected to artificial intelligence systems are more likely to suffer from loneliness, which can lead to sleep deprivation and increased drinking after work. The researchers conducted four experiments in the US, Taiwan, Indonesia and Malaysia. The findings were consistent across cultures. The research was published online in the Journal of Applied Psychology. In a prior career, lead researcher Pok Man Tang, PhD, worked at an investment bank where he used AI systems, which sparked his interest in researching the timing issue.

Tang, assistant professor of management at the university, said, “Rapid advances in AI systems are sparking a new industrial revolution that is reshaping the workplace with many benefits, but potentially harmful mental and physical health problems for employees.” There are also some unknown dangers, including physical effects.” Georgia. “Humans are social animals, and mixing work in isolation with AI systems can have a detrimental effect on employees’ personal lives.”

At the same time, there may be some advantages to working with AI systems. The researchers found that employees who frequently used AI systems were more likely to offer help to fellow employees, but this response may be due to their loneliness and need for social interaction.

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In addition, the studies found that participants with high levels of attachment anxiety – a tendency to feel insecure and anxious about social relationships – responded more strongly to tasks on AI systems with positive feedback, such as others. Helping, and negative, such as loneliness and insomnia.

In one experiment, 166 engineers at a Taiwanese biomedical company who work with AI systems were surveyed for three weeks about loneliness, attachment anxiety, and sense of belonging. Coworkers rated individual participants on their helpful behaviors, and family members reported participants’ insomnia and after-work alcohol consumption.

Employees who interacted more frequently with AI systems were more likely to report increased loneliness, insomnia, and after-work alcohol consumption, but also showed some helping behaviors toward fellow employees.

In another experiment with 126 real estate consultants at an Indonesian property management company, half were instructed not to use an AI system for three consecutive days, while the other half were instructed to work with the AI ​​system as little as possible. where did it go. The findings for the latter group were similar to the previous experiment, except that there was no association between frequency of AI use and after-work alcohol consumption.

An online experiment with 214 full-time working adults in the US and 294 employees at a Malaysian tech company yielded similar findings. The research findings are correlational and do not prove that working with AI systems causes loneliness or other reactions, just an association between them.

Tang said that going forward, developers of AI technology should consider equipping AI systems with social features, such as the human voice, to simulate human-like interactions. Employers can also limit the frequency of work with AI systems and provide opportunities for employees to socialize.

Team decision-making and other tasks where social relationships are important can be performed by people, while AI systems can focus more on tedious and repetitive tasks, Tang said.

“Mindfulness programs and other positive interventions may also help address loneliness,” Tang said. “AI will continue to expand so we need to act now to minimize potentially harmful effects for the people who work with these systems.”