Texting with a random human peer is better at alleviating loneliness than a chatbot

Texting daily with a random human peer may be more effective in alleviating loneliness than texting with a highly supportive chatbot.

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘲𝘶𝘰𝘵𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘺, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘨𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘺...

AI chatbots are increasingly embedded in social life, offering accessible companionship. While brief interactions have been shown to provide immediate benefits, it is unclear whether repeated, daily engagement with chatbots reduces loneliness. 

𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝘆 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝘂𝗽:
- 296 students in their first semester of university
- 2 weeks of participation with 1) a chatbot, 2) a brief journal entry, or 3) texting with a random human peer

𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀:
Interacting with the chatbot did not yield the same psychological benefits as interacting with a randomly selected first-year university student. In fact, participants who interacted with the chatbot reported similar levels of loneliness at the end of the two-week study compared to those who simply wrote a sentence about their day. 
Only participants who texted with a human peer showed an improvement in loneliness across the study period. Overall, these findings suggest that alleviating loneliness requires more than the mere simulation of human emotions and care.