Loneliness, insomnia associated with frequent use of AI systems at work: study

Employees who regularly use artificial intelligence systems have a higher chance of experiencing loneliness, which can result in insomnia, according to a new study.

The artificial intelligence revolution is underway and with it comes a range of questions about what the future of work will entail — such as how working with AI systems may impact employees.

A new study published in the Journal of Applied Psychology aims to answer that question.

Researchers conducted four experiments in the United States, Taiwan, Indonesia and Malaysia and found consistent results across the board — employees who regularly use AI systems have a higher chance of experiencing loneliness, which can lead to insomnia.

The researchers note that their findings don’t prove that working with AI systems causes loneliness or insomnia, but there is an association among them.

The experiments 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.

At the Taiwanese biomedical company, the engineers were monitored over three weeks about their feelings of loneliness, attachment anxiety and sense of belonging. Co-workers were asked to rate each participant on their helpful behaviours at work, while family members were asked to report on participants’ insomnia and how much alcohol they consumed after work hours.

In that experiment, employees who interacted with AI systems more often had a higher chance of experiencing loneliness, insomnia and increased alcohol consumption after work.