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As conversational AI becomes capable of sustained, affectively responsive interaction, users may form bonds beyond instrumental use. Existing measures often adapt interpersonal frameworks or focus on specific relational outcomes, leaving…
AI companion chatbots, such as those offered by Replika and CharacterAI, increasingly function as always-available companions that provide empathy, validation, and support. While these systems appear to meet basic needs for connection,…
Humans strive to design safe AI systems that align with our goals and remain under our control. However, as AI capabilities advance, we face a new challenge: the emergence of deeper, more persistent relationships between humans and AI…
The rise of AI conversational agents has broadened opportunities to enhance human capabilities across various domains. As these agents become more prevalent, it is crucial to investigate the impact of different affective abilities on their…
Development in digital technologies has continuously reshaped how individuals seek and receive social and emotional support. While online platforms and communities have long served this need, the increased integration of general-purpose…
AI companion chatbots are increasingly used for emotional support, with prior work in the domain predominantly documenting their mixed psychosocial impacts, including both increased emotional expression and heightened loneliness. However,…
As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes increasingly embedded in daily life, designing intuitive, trustworthy, and emotionally resonant AI-human interfaces has emerged as a critical challenge. This editorial introduces a Special Issue that…
AI chatbots designed as emotional companions blur the boundaries between interpersonal intimacy and institutional software, creating a complex, multi-dimensional privacy environment. Drawing on Communication Privacy Management theory and…
Conversational AI companions have grown prominent in public discourse, yet scholarly understanding of user experiences remains limited, with existing research organized around evaluative poles of harm and benefit rather than examining what…
This paper explores the acceptance of human-AI love among young adults, particularly focusing on Chinese women in romantic or intimate relationships with AI companions. Through qualitative research, including 14 semi-structured interviews,…
An increasing number of LLM-based applications are being developed to facilitate romantic relationships with AI partners, yet the safety and privacy risks in these partnerships remain largely underexplored. In this work, we investigate…
Human-AI co-creativity involves humans and AI collaborating on a shared creative product as partners. In a creative collaboration, communication is an essential component among collaborators. In many existing co-creative systems users can…
The emergence of AI companion applications has created novel forms of intimate human-AI relationships, yet empirical research on these communities remains limited. We present the first large-scale computational analysis of…
Older adults have increasingly turned to conversational AI as a source of emotional support. However, little is known about how emotionally supportive interactions are experienced in everyday use, particularly when AI systems limit,…
As the use of interactive AI systems becomes increasingly prevalent in our daily lives, it is crucial to understand how individuals feel when interacting with such systems. In this work, we investigate the comfort level of individuals when…
Millions of people now turn to artificial intelligence (AI) systems for personal advice, guidance, and support. Such systems can be sycophantic, frequently affirming users' views and beliefs. Across five preregistered studies (N = 3,075…
Recent advances in AI are integrating AI into the fabric of human social life, creating transformative, co-shaping relationships between humans and AI. This trend makes it urgent to investigate how these systems, in turn, shape their users.…
The rapid advancement of AI companionship systems has positioned them as scalable interventions for addressing social isolation. Current design approaches emphasize maximizing user engagement and satisfaction, treating effective alignment…
As generative AI chatbots become more personalized and emotionally responsive, they increasingly serve as companions, friends, and romantic partners. Yet these relationships are accompanied by significant uncertainty: users question the…
Social interactions promote well-being, yet barriers like geographic distance, time limitations, and mental health conditions can limit face-to-face interactions. Emotionally responsive AI systems, such as chatbots, offer new opportunities…