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A new study published in Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies looked at how humans mindlessly treat AI virtual agents as social beings, but how this tendency diminishes among the young. “We were interested in understanding how people relate to AI tools, for example chatbots or smart speakers,” study author Jianan Zhou told us. “Such systems are pervasive nowadays and appear to be smart and well-informed to the typical user, which makes sense from the point of usability. The question this raises, however, is whether interaction with such systems can increase feelings of liking or sympathy towards them and lead us to behave much like we do when interacting with other humans.” [More]

Employees who have frequent interaction with artificial intelligence systems are more likely to be lonely. Research published by the American Psychological Association found that the loneliness experienced by the employees could lead to insomnia as well as after work drinking. [More]

A recent study found a link between depression and social anxiety on increased phubbing. It also showed that smartphone usage during face-to-face interactions can be problematic and harmful in friendships. “Results showed that those with higher levels of depression, social anxiety, and neuroticism were significantly related to greater friend phubbing while agreeableness was negatively related to friend phubbing.” [More]

In recent news on Google’s blog, they announced that, in addition to being your personal assistant, Google is taking another step to becoming an integral part of your life. LaMDA, a conversation technology, is intended to have conversations about any topic without giving the same answer twice. [More]

There is an app for almost everything, including ones to help manage your mental health. The market seems to have no limits; apps promising relief from the pain of losing a loved one, or sleep deprivation, are as prevalent as anxiety apps. [More]

Self-guided online mental health programs sound promising for people who may not choose to see a therapist for varying reasons. But research coming out in the September 2021 issue of Internet Interventions shows the engagement with these programs is generally low. [More]

Clinical Psychologist Dr. Anthony Bean is the CEO of Geek Therapeutics, which aims to bridge “the gap between geeks and therapists”. But is there a market for this type of therapy? I invited Bean and other experts to give their thoughts on therapy specifically for geeks. [More]

Smartphones may or may not be evil - depending on whom you ask. Some studies show people spend too much time on their phones which negatively impacts their mental health. Others claim it's how people feel about their use more than the use itself. [More]

“Zoom fatigue” is a catchphrase for 2020 as the pandemic forced in person meetings online. But is there a better alternative? A study by Ericsson, “The Dematerialized Office”, predicts that augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) would “enable the experience of collaborating in the same room with colleagues.'' If this becomes a routine solution in the business world, it will likely become commonplace for personal use, including therapy. However, is this introducing another potential solution that people will grow tired of? [More]

Meena, featured on Google’s AI blog, is a chatbot trained in a conversational model. The concept is that it conducts conversations that are more sensible and specific than existing chatbots. This chatbot, trained with 2.6 billion parameters, is designed to offer more humanlike conversations. [More]