Something Interesting, Week 3
As I blog, I realize that blogging is (or was) magical because there was no need to explain why something was interesting. It just needed to be.
Is this a positive outcome from an AI-saturated media landscape?
I am a massive fan of the Public Domain Review. I use public domain imagery for all of my writing, prompts, and workshops.
Go and support them by buying posters or becoming a friend of PDR (and get awesome postcards).
An interesting op-ed from Parmy Olson discusses the addictive qualities of ChatGPT, which is linked to this report from OpenAI and the one below.
Several studies have already raised questions about potential addiction to chatbots [8], referring to their negative impact on mental health in adolescents and adults [9,10,11]. These concerns are further supported by evidence showing that users can develop dependent or addictive behaviours toward AI, including emotional dependence on chatbots, attachment to social chatbots, and reliance on conversational AI [12,13,14]. What remains unclear is the possible extent of behavioural addiction and the challenges related to ChatGPT, which differs from special-purpose chatbots. This uncertainty raises concerns about the potential psychological, social, and behavioural impacts. It also raises questions about how we can assess, measure, and mitigate the potential for addiction, not just in terms of functional dependence (e.g., relying on AI for daily tasks like drafting emails or translating text) but also in terms of socio-emotional dependence (e.g., seeking comfort, companionship, and social validation from the AI).
While addiction is often associated with dependency on substances like alcohol, nicotine, or drugs, experts in behavioural science argue that addiction can stem from any activity capable of stimulating an individual [15, 16]. Behaviours such as gambling, video gaming, chatting, or browsing the internet can evolve from simple habits into compulsive actions, marking the onset of addiction. This shift occurs when these activities become less about choice and more about an uncontrollable need [17]. There is increasing evidence that behavioural addictions, including those linked to digital tools, can result in significant psychological, social, and cognitive harm [18]. Studies have shown that compulsive use of digital platforms is associated with heightened anxiety, depression, impaired decision-making, and disrupted interpersonal relationships [19,20,21, 102].