According to a new study, coworkers who work closely with artificial intelligence are more likely to suffer from loneliness, binge drinking, and insomnia than counterparts who work directly with humans.
When ChatGPT was released last year, it quickly became clear that artificial intelligence was here to stay. Users from all over the world flocked to utilise the chatbot, which can replicate human discussions, while certain companies prepared to integrate the technology into routine work.
In March, a Goldman Sachs report projected that generative AI might affect and replace 300 million occupations globally. The Artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT, according to a different report by Challenger, Grey & Christmas, might take the place of at least 4.8 million American jobs.
After working at an investment bank that uses AI, Pok Man Tang, an assistant professor of management at the University of Georgia, started a study to look into how Artificial intelligence affects human workers. According to the study, people who work closely with AI are more likely to engage in binge drinking and experience insomnia than their non-AI-using counterparts.
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According to the study, which was released by the American Psychological Association, “the rapid advancement in Artificial intelligence systems is sparking a new industrial revolution that is reshaping the workplace with many benefits but also some uncharted dangers, including potentially harmful mental and physical impacts for employees.”
Humans are social creatures, so isolating work with Artificial intelligence systems could negatively impact employees’ personal lives, he continued.
In four separate studies conducted by the researchers in the United States, Taiwan, Indonesia, and Malaysia, it was discovered that workers who frequently use Artificial intelligence are more likely to binge drink after work, endure restless nights, and feel more lonely.
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As an example, over the course of three weeks, the research team questioned 166 AI-using engineers in Taiwan who work for a biomedical company, asking them about feelings of loneliness, attachment anxiety, and belonging. The research team also asked participants’ relatives about the sleeping and drinking schedules of their loved ones. Overall, it was discovered that the individuals increased their after-work drinking and felt lonely.
In all four trials, the researchers discovered that participants were more likely to assist their human counterparts, which they hypothesised might be a result of participants’ social needs and feelings of loneliness.
Similar findings were obtained from a second study using 126 real estate consultants in Indonesia, despite the fact that increased usage of AI did not enhance after-work drinking. There is a link between growing Artificial intelligence use and loneliness, according to research done online on 294 employees of a Malaysian tech business and 214 full-time working adults in the United States.
The usage of Artificial intelligence , however, does not directly demonstrate that loneliness or excessive drinking are caused by it, according to the researchers.
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“The quick takeaway is that the more frequently employees interact with AI systems at work, the more likely it is that they will respond in the following two ways,” Tang wrote in an email to Fox News Digital on Tuesday.
When using Artificial intelligence at work more frequently, employees may react in a “adaptive” way, he claimed, which would cause them to feel “a stronger need to socially connect with other human coworkers and, thus, prompt them to enact prosocial behaviours towards other human employees at work.”
Employees may also react “maladaptively,” Tang added. This means that they “experience a stronger sense of loneliness and, as a result, trigger a series of maladaptive responses after work, including drinking more alcohol and having trouble sleeping at home.”
According to Tang, firms might set limits on how much time employees spend using Artificial intelligence systems, while systems with human voices to better replicate social interactions could aid employees in avoiding feelings of loneliness. His remarks follow one from a Danish researcher who discovered that “charismatic” robots, or those trained to speak passionately, can positively affect college students by fostering innovation in group projects.
In a press release about the study, Tang stated that “mindfulness programmes and other positive interventions also might help relieve loneliness.” We must take action now to reduce the possible negative consequences on those who work with these systems because Artificial intelligence will only continue to grow.\
