Washington: With the increase in the use of artificial intelligence systems, health problems they have also increased simultaneously.
According to a study published by the American Psychological Associationemployees who often interact with artificial intelligence systems are more likely to suffer lonelinessthat can contribute to insomnia and increased alcohol consumption after work.
The researchers conducted four experiments in the US, Taiwan, Indonesia, and Malaysia. The findings were consistent across all cultures. The research was published online in the Journal of Applied Psychology.
In a previous career, Principal Investigator Pok Man Tang, PhD, worked at an investment bank where he used AI systems, which led to his interest in research on the right topic. “The rapid advancement in AI systems is sparking a new industrial revolution that is reshaping the workplace with many benefits but also some unknown dangers, including potentially harmful physical and mental impacts on employees,” said Tang, assistant professor of management in the georgia university.
“Humans are social animals and isolating work with AI systems can have damaging side effects on employees’ personal lives.” At the same time, working with AI systems can have some benefits. The researchers found that employees who used AI systems frequently were more likely to offer help to their coworkers, but that response may have been triggered by their loneliness and need for social contact.
Additionally, the studies found that participants with higher levels of attachment anxiety, a tendency to feel insecure and concerned about social connections, responded more strongly to working in AI systems with positive reactions, such as helping others, and negative, like loneliness. and insomnia
In one experiment, 166 engineers from a Taiwanese biomedical company working with artificial intelligence systems were surveyed for three weeks about their feelings of loneliness, attachment anxiety, and sense of belonging. Coworkers rated individual participants on helpful behaviors, and family members reported participants’ insomnia and after-work alcohol use. Employees who interacted more frequently with AI systems were more likely to experience loneliness, insomnia, and increased alcohol consumption after work, but also displayed some helping behaviors toward coworkers.
In another experiment with 126 real estate consultants at an Indonesian property management company, half were told not to use AI systems for three consecutive days, while the other half were told to work with AI systems both as possible. Findings for the latter group were similar to those in the previous experiment, except that there was no association between frequency of AI use and after-work alcohol consumption.
There were similar findings from an online experiment with 214 full-time working adults in the US and another with 294 employees at a Malaysian tech company. The research findings are correlational and do not prove that working with AI systems causes loneliness or other responses. , only that there is an association between them. Tang said that in the future, AI technology developers should consider equipping AI systems with social features, such as a human voice, to emulate human-like interactions. Employers could also limit the frequency of working with AI systems and offer opportunities for employees to socialize. 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. “Mindfulness programs and other positive interventions could also help alleviate loneliness,” Tang said.
“AI will continue to spread, so we must act now to lessen the potentially harmful effects on people working with these systems.”
