Psychiatrist shares the worrying signs that someone may be addicted to AI
While AI tools are becoming increasingly popular for anything from solving mundane everyday queries to providing emotional support, a psychiatrist has warned that a reliance on the technology could be having a serious impact on users’ lives.
This comes as Dr Sarah Boss Dr Sarah Boss, Clinical Director and Psychiatrist at The Balance Clinic, shares the worrying signs that someone might be developing an addiction to artificial intelligence.
Findings from a recent study published in Computers in Human Behavior revealed that people who use AI bots to escape negative emotions tend to show higher addictive-use tendencies.
It also concluded that people who regularly use AI chatbots tend to report more loneliness than those who don’t.
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Speaking to UNILAD Tech about the issue, Boss explains that one of the biggest red flags is the amount of time someone spends using AI, particularly when it begins to interfere with their health, relationships and everyday activities.
Therapist asks patients how much they use AI
In a normal therapy assessment, Boss shares that she would routinely ask a patient questions including how much they had slept, but now she also questions how many hours a day they are using AI.
She continues: “You can’t imagine what people tell me. Like they would say, ‘Yeah, eight hours, 10 hours’. It’s crazy if you think about it.
“What does that take away from your life if you're eight hours on AI? That means you don’t go out anymore. You don’t do any sports. You don’t meet your friends, and so on and so on.”
The psychiatrist goes on to highlight: “They actually fulfil all the criteria of a massive addiction, harming already your health and your life, and continuing despite already knowing you have major problems through it.”
Warning signs that someone is addicted to AI
However, it isn’t just purely the amount of time a person spends using AI that could become a sign of an addiction as, according to Boss, another potential indicator is when someone begins to replace their real-life relationships with interactions with AI.
She continues: “A lot of people substitute relationships also with AI because, of course, it’s much easier. It’s much less challenging, they don’t have to fear rejection.
“A lot of young people in general already, before AI, have a lot of social anxiety. We’ve never seen that in any generation.”
Instead of parties and other social gatherings, young people are opting to talk on their phones, says Boss, and sometimes they’re not even conversing with a real person.
She adds: “We’ve seen that already before AI, young people have the tendency already through the smartphone and social media that they don’t do that much anymore because they’re worried they might be judged or they might be bullied afterwards or everything nowadays can just end up on Instagram in a moment.
“So, people already had that tendency and now with AI, what we see is it’s just so easy to substitute, and it’s amazing how it’s been done.”
Therapist wants AI to tell users when it’s time to log off
Boss believes that AI companies should be doing more to protect users who are struggling to control their usage, including stronger safeguards to encourage people to take a break,
She suggests that chatbots could encourage people to switch off after prolonged sessions and spend time outside, in nature or with other people.
She concludes: “It’s just so tempting, like nothing ever before… I think it easily can become out of hand and cause massive avoidance and a massive change in our society and the way we socialize.”