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Chatbots are popular machine partners for task-oriented and social interactions. Human-human computer-mediated communication research has explored how people express their gender and sexuality in online social interactions, but little is…
Generative artificial intelligence (GAI) chatbots built for mental health could deliver safe, personalized, and scalable mental health support. We evaluate a foundation model designed for mental health. Adults completed mental health…
Romantic AI chatbots have quickly attracted users, but their emotional use raises concerns about privacy and safety. As people turn to these systems for intimacy, comfort, and emotionally significant interaction, they often disclose highly…
From its inception, AI has had a rather ambivalent relationship to humans---swinging between their augmentation and replacement. Now, as AI technologies enter our everyday lives at an ever increasing pace, there is a greater need for AI…
Millions of users form emotional attachments to AI companions like Character AI, Replika, and ChatGPT. When these relationships end through model updates, safety interventions, or platform shutdowns, users receive no closure, reporting…
Many people suffer from mental health problems but not everyone seeks professional help or has access to mental health care. AI chatbots have increasingly become a go-to for individuals who either have mental disorders or simply want…
Powered by large language models, a new genre of multi-agent social platforms has emerged. Apps such as Social.AI deploy numerous AI agents that emulate human behavior, creating unprecedented bot-centric social networks. Yet, existing…
As AI companions become capable of human-like communication, including telling jokes, understanding how people cognitively and emotionally respond to AI humor becomes increasingly important. This study used electroencephalography (EEG) to…
The development of AI agents based on large, open-domain language models (LLMs) has paved the way for the development of general-purpose AI assistants that can support human in tasks such as writing, coding, graphic design, and scientific…
Long-term life task planning is inherently complex and uncertain, yet little is known about how emerging AI systems support this process. This study investigates how people use ChatGPT for such planning tasks, focusing on user practices,…
Large language model behavior is shaped by the language of those with whom they interact. This capacity and their increasing prevalence online portend that they will intentionally or unintentionally "program" one another and form emergent…
A scan of 110 AI companion platforms reveals a rapidly growing global market for emotionally engaging, personalized AI interactions. While parasocial use of general-purpose AI (GPAI) tools currently dominates, a growing number of platforms…
Artificial intelligence (AI) is now widely used to facilitate social interaction, but its impact on social relationships and communication is not well understood. We study the social consequences of one of the most pervasive AI…
Artificial intelligence (AI) based learning assistants and chatbots are increasingly integrated into higher education. While these tools are often evaluated in terms of technical performance, their successful and ethical use also depends on…
LLM-based chatbots are now being specifically designed to facilitate social companionship, even romantic relationships, incorporating features that parallel human relationship dynamics. This has led a subset of users to form romantic…
AI-companion apps such as Replika, Chai, and Character.ai promise relational benefits-yet many boast session lengths that rival gaming platforms while suffering high long-run churn. What conversational design features increase consumer…
Mind perception (MP) is a psychological phenomenon in which humans automatically infer that another entity has a mind and/or mental capacities, usually understood in two dimensions (perceived agency and experience capacities). Despite MP's…
Chatbots, the common moniker for collaborative assistants, are Artificial Intelligence (AI) software that enables people to naturally interact with them to get tasks done. Although chatbots have been studied since the dawn of AI, they have…
There is growing concern that AI chatbots might fuel delusional beliefs in users. Some have suggested that humans and chatbots mutually reinforce false beliefs over time, but quantitative evidence is lacking. Using a unique dataset of chat…
Human-AI co-creativity involves humans and AI collaborating on a shared creative product as partners. In many existing co-creative systems, users communicate with the AI using buttons or sliders. However, typically, the AI in co-creative…