Dossier
CESifo
Coverage of CESifo in the Nexus archive.
- Talking to a bot might feel good in the moment, but a growing body of research suggests it won’t cure loneliness
An experiment involving over 12,000 French adults found that while conversational AI chatbots made participants rate the conversations as enjoyable, this experience was correlated with a rise in self-reported loneliness, falling life satisfaction, and increased depressive affect. Experts warn that interacting with an AI interface may not create meaningful connection because it does not replicate the sense of being known by another person.