People who frequently interact with artificial intelligence (AI) systems at work are allegedly more likely to experience loneliness, indulge in binge drinking and suffer from insomnia as compared to their colleagues who work alongside humans.
According to the new study by the American Psychological Association, employees who have heavy interactions with AI systems were more likely to offer assistance to co-workers.
This sounds like a good thing. But this response is supposedly triggered by their loneliness and need for social contact.
“The rapid advancement in AI systems is sparking a new industrial revolution that is reshaping the workplace with many benefits but also some uncharted dangers, including potentially damaging mental and physical impacts for employees,” explained lead researcher Pok Man Tang, an assistant professor of management at the University of Georgia.
“Humans are social animals, and isolating work with AI systems may have damaging spillover effects into employees’ personal lives,” he continued.
The findings are based on four experiments were carried out in the US, Taiwan, Indonesia, and Malaysia. The results were found to be consistent across cultures.
This doesn’t prove that work with AI systems causes loneliness or the other responses, just that there is a relation between these factors.
Tang said that in the future, AI technology developers should consider equipping AI systems with social features such as a human voice to mimic human-like interactions.
Employers could also limit the frequency with which employees work with AI systems and provide opportunities for socialization.
“Team decision-making and other tasks where social connections are important could be done by people, while AI systems could focus more on tedious and repetitive tasks,” Tang added.
