Co-authored by Ryan Moore, Ph.D., assistant professor, iSchool and School of Computing, the University of Texas at Austin.
My daughter bought me a label maker for my birthday. I had never considered using a label maker. But suddenly, the leftovers in the freezer required a name and a date, the file drawers in my office needed topic indicators, and the boxes with holiday decorations are now clearly marked with what is inside. Who knew that something you never had could be so indispensable?
Chatbots may be the label makers of the social world. We never knew how useful they could be until they arrived. A chatbot, especially when powered by today’s generative artificial intelligence (AI) models, can feel like talking with another person. With names like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini, chatbots may play important and unique roles in our social lives.
Caveat
New technologies present exciting opportunities, but also reasons to be cautious or concerned. These new AI tools usher in concerns about job obsolescence, security, and the environment. But when used appropriately, AI tools could enhance our social lives in meaningful ways. Let’s focus on enhancement here, not substitution.
Using Chatbots in the Social World
I’ve mentioned previously that different types of social ties fulfill diverse social needs: belongingness, information, everyday tasks, support, intimacy, and feeling loved and cared for. No single social tie fulfills all needs. We benefit from a mix of romantic partners, children, friends, neighbors, close acquaintances (i.e., fringeships), and even strangers.
Historically, new technologies introduced possibilities for social interaction. For example, since the first part of the 20th century, when the telephone entered everyday life, we commonly talk with people who aren’t present.
Chatbots differ from technologies that facilitate communication between people. Chatbots can perform autonomous social functions when humans aren’t available. They provide individualized, tailored information; a sounding board to strengthen human relationships; a forum to think aloud without managing another human’s reactions; and they can reinforce decisions. Consistent affirmation has several limitations and could harm more than help us, but if the input is weighed for what it is, it can be supportive.
Why wouldn’t we want to add that to our social repertoire?
Available 24/7
In the 1980s, L.L. Bean advertised a 24-hour retail service that you could call toll-free day or night. This was a novel approach, but it was limited to ordering fishing gear or a jacket.
Chatbots are available to discuss anything, anytime, anywhere. You can wake them at 2 a.m. when you are ruminating about a talk you have to give. And they have no expectations of reciprocity. There are hotlines available anytime, too (if you ever feel suicidal, call 988 to speak with a human—not a chatbot). But chatbots will shoot the breeze.
Cognitive Proxy
Other available software keeps a calendar. A chatbot goes a step further by solving problems, generating a schedule, and tailoring an agenda to your needs and priorities. Chatbots determine the information we need, then find it.
Chatbots may also support people with deficits. They can take notes during a class for a student with a learning disability. Someone in early-stage dementia can ask the chatbot the same question repeatedly, without taxing a caregiver.
Chatbots can help with tasks that require detail or repetition. It can tutor a third grader in multiplication tables over and over and never needs to go fix dinner. It can format or update a spreadsheet and quickly pull information from the web. Human effort may be better spent on the complex steps in each project.
Enhancing Our Relationships
Counterintuitively, Chatbots could enhance our human relationships. Communication between people can benefit from input that balances what you want with predictions of another person’s reactions. Chatbots offer:
- An opportunity to vent, write in ALL CAPS, throw a fit. They can help you translate that frustration and anger into a polite request to your colleague.
- Practice for a sensitive conversation ahead of time.
- Interpreting an ambiguous message someone sent and drafting an appropriate response.
- Serving as a confidant. It won’t gossip about your conflicts with your friends.
Personalized Information
In 2000, a search engine called Google spread widely, accessing a universe of information. The website even became a verb. I googled, “the year Google became popular” to land on 2000.
But chatbots can personalize information. With the prompt: “I want a vacation that balances sites, hiking, and great food,” ChatGPT suggested Tucson, Arizona. Over time, the chatbot remembers my preferences.
It has pulled recipes (simple, pescatarian), recommended books, and culled my movie recommendations. No one crafts your personal time the way your chatbot can in minutes.
What Are the Risks of Using Chatbots?
Any particular relationship comes with constraints. You don’t hug your customers. You don’t send memos to your grandma. Chatbots are additions to our social networks, but limitations make them tools rather than social partners.
Chatbot advice can be harmful on important issues, including finance or health. Issues of consequence require human research and input; chatbots have led people severely astray.
Researchers have identified addictive or compulsive engagement, overreliance for cognitive skills, and psychological and emotional dependence on chatbots. Some people have even formed romantic ties to a chatbot. Collectively, these behaviors pose risks for individuals who most need human contact.
Their constant affirmation can be limiting. Chatbots won’t engage in detrimental aggression. But human disagreements provide fodder for complex thinking and problem-solving. Challenges of communicating with people who disagree have been linked to prolonged life. AI chatbots affirm human actions even in cases where those actions are deceptive or illegal, which could cause users to take actions that harm their real-world relationships.
Finally, although nearly all our technology use consumes electricity, the AI powering today’s chatbots poses environmental impacts that we should be mindful of.
Bottom line: Chatbots serve as a beneficial “extra” in a diverse social network. But as with any technology, you must implement it effectively. Dishwashers are great for everyday plates and cups, but don’t use them for the cast iron skillet.
Using a chatbot wisely can enhance your social world in new and exciting ways. But stick to what it does best.
