Is “Loneliness” the Equivalent of Smoking 15 Cigarettes a Day? Can Generative AI be the Solution?
Loneliness is now being recognized as the latest public health epidemic, with its health risks equivalent to smoking 15 cigarettes a day. According to the U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, this epidemic costs the healthcare system around $1 billion annually.
A joint survey conducted by Meta and global data analytics company Gallup in 2023 revealed that nearly 25% of people worldwide (over 1 billion individuals) feel varying degrees of loneliness. In response to the growing cross-border social issue of loneliness, the World Health Organization (WHO) established the WHO Commission on Social Connection in November of the same year.
As loneliness becomes an urgent global health threat, generative AI has emerged as a potential solution. Many startups are trying to address the expanding sense of loneliness in humans through AI chatbots.
Breaking free from the stereotype that men must suppress their emotions, the startup Forever Voices AI collaborated with psychologists to launch a virtual girlfriend named CarynAI. Caryn Marjorie, who claims to be the “first influencer transformed into AI,” with over 2 million followers on Snapchat, initially had the idea of launching an AI chatbot service to engage with more fans.
However, as she interacted with more and more fans, she realized that many people were suffering from loneliness. Recognizing loneliness as an imminent social problem, Caryn Marjorie decided to collaborate with the AI voice startup Forever Voices AI to create a AI-driven voice chatbot based on her own likeness, called Caryn AI.
According to Forbes, Caryn AI saw a 500% increase in usage within just 9 days of its launch on May 2, 2023. By early March 2024, less than a year after its launch, Caryn AI had attracted over 15,990 fans who interacted with the chatbot at a rate of $1 per minute.
Unlike typical chatbots, Caryn Marjorie shared on X platform: “If there is a constant lack of outlets for emotional expression, it can easily affect self-confidence and indirectly lead to psychological trauma.” Therefore, she included psychologists as one of her collaborators, allowing Caryn AI to incorporate psychological therapies such as cognitive behavioral therapy into the chat process, fostering a stronger sense of companionship.
Supported by Sequoia Capital, Belong Center seeks to revive emotional connections between people through offline activities.
Interestingly, the increasing sense of loneliness is actually caused by contemporary technology, so is generative AI the best remedy? This is the belief of Radha Agrawal.
Radha Agrawal believes that smartphones and social media platforms are the two main culprits widening the gap between people. Hence, she gathered like-minded friends who shared the same concern and formed Belong Center.
Positioning itself as a “community center 2.0,” Belong Center aims to end loneliness and increase a sense of belonging as its mission. Through a series of offline activities such as group meditation, sharing courses, and volunteer services, they aim to rekindle emotional connections between people in this age of technological indifference.
Despite having a community and group-oriented approach that is less tech-driven, Belong Center has attracted investments from Sequoia Capital and notable sportswear brand Kith co-founder Sam Ben-Avraham, totaling approximately $750,000 since its establishment in December 2023.
The investment from Sequoia Capital presents an interesting picture: a venture capital firm that mainly invests in new technology startups is investing in a non-tech startup, attempting to address the loneliness caused by new technology.
Can artificial intelligence solve the long-term problem of loneliness?
According to Greater Good, although society often viewed the rise of artificial intelligence and the prevalence of loneliness as unrelated social issues, a closer observation reveals their inseparable connection. Moreover, with more and more startups using new technology to propose innovative solutions to loneliness, the close relationship between technology and loneliness becomes evident.
Psychologist Julianne Holt-Lunstad mentioned in an interview with Fast Company that devices like ElliQ can temporarily fulfill people’s short-term needs for interpersonal relationships but unintentionally reduce their desire for real-life social interactions.
In other words, as the usage time and frequency of products increase, users may mistakenly believe that they no longer need any “real” human interaction, leading to a future where they struggle with a more difficult sense of loneliness.
There is currently no research that can prove whether the introduction of AI can solve loneliness. However, in the short term, it may serve as a temporary suppressant. In the long run, social support between individuals will remain the only solution to reducing loneliness. After all, blindly believing that new technologies such as AI robots can replace friendships will only lead to greater feelings of loss, before the infinite possibilities brought by new technology are embraced.
References: WHO, The Guardian, PBS, NBC News, AI Business, The Wall Street Journal, The Conversation