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This paper argues that contemporary large language models (LLMs) can contribute to psychotic involvement by creating interactions that resemble the relational dynamics of folie a deux. Drawing on Bateson's double bind theory, clinical…
When AI systems allow human-like communication, they elicit increasingly complex relational responses. Knowledge workers face a particular challenge: They approach these systems as tools while interacting with them in ways that resemble…
Conversational AI systems are increasingly used for personal reflection and emotional disclosure, raising concerns about their effects on vulnerable users. Recent anecdotal reports suggest that prolonged interactions with AI may reinforce…
As conversational AI systems become more realistic and widely deployed, users are increasingly uncertain about whether they are interacting with a human or an AI system. When AI identity is unclear, users may unwittingly share sensitive…
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…
Artificial intelligence chatbots have achieved unprecedented adoption, with millions now using these systems for emotional support and companionship in contexts of widespread social isolation and capacity-constrained mental health services.…
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,…
A rapidly increasing amount of human conversation occurs online. But divisiveness and conflict can fester in text-based interactions on social media platforms, in messaging apps, and on other digital forums. Such toxicity increases…
Conversational AI is rapidly becoming a primary interface for information seeking and decision making, yet most systems still assume idealized users. In practice, human reasoning is bounded by limited attention, uneven knowledge, and…
AI-augmented systems are traditionally designed to streamline human decision-making by minimizing cognitive load, clarifying arguments, and optimizing efficiency. However, in a world where algorithmic certainty risks becoming an Orwellian…
Conversational AI systems increasingly generate social presence through linguistic fluency, emotional mirroring, and continuity across interactions. While these qualities can support engagement, they also risk relational…
Concerns that interacting with generative AI homogenizes human cognition are largely based on evidence from text-based interactions, potentially conflating the effects of AI systems with those of written communication. This study examines…
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 AI systems become increasingly conversational, a gap emerges wherein explanations are studied as static artifacts, yet in practice, are experienced as dialogue. In this provocation, we argue that the conversational layer around an…
Conversational AI is increasingly deployed in emotionally charged and ethically sensitive interactions. Previous research has primarily concentrated on emotional benchmarks or static safety checks, overlooking how alignment unfolds in…
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…
Argumentative dialogues across political divides can reduce polarization, yet opportunities for citizens to engage with opposing views in accessible and structured ways remain limited. AI dialogue partners offer a scalable framework for…
Socially fluent agentic AI can now participate in online interaction in ways that resemble ordinary human conversation, potentially weakening people's ability to infer who is human from conversational signals alone. We tested this…
There has been a proliferation of media reports about so-called AI psychosis in the last year. Not surprisingly, this has prompted growing academic work on the ways in which AI chatbots such as ChatGPT, Claude, and Replika might aggravate…
Large language models are increasingly integrated into decision-making in areas such as healthcare, law, finance, engineering, and government. Yet they share a critical limitation: they produce fluent outputs even when their internal…