AI workplace use linked to loneliness, insomnia
WASHINGTON, UNITED STATES — A recent study published in the Journal of Applied Psychology revealed that employees frequently using artificial intelligence (AI) systems may experience increased loneliness and insomnia.
The study involved 166 engineers at a Taiwanese biomedical company, 126 real estate consultants in an Indonesian property management company, 214 full-time working adults in the U.S., and 294 employees at a Malaysian tech company.
The experiments found that individuals with higher levels of attachment anxiety, or worry over social connections, had more intense reactions—both positive and negative—to working with AI systems.
Dr. Pok Man Tang, an assistant professor of management at the University of Georgia in the U.S. who also led the study, said, “Humans are social animals, and isolating work with AI systems may have damaging spillover effects into employees’ personal lives.”
Despite potential negatives, the study also identified benefits. Employees using AI frequently were more inclined to assist their colleagues, a behavior potentially triggered by their loneliness and a desire for social contact.
Tang suggested that AI developers incorporate social features into their systems, and employers limit AI use while promoting social opportunities among employees. He also recommended employing AI for mundane tasks, leaving socially interactive jobs to human workers.
“AI will keep expanding, so we need to act now to lessen the potentially damaging effects for people who work with these systems,” he added.
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