Social and ethical impact of emotional AI advancement: the rise of pseudo-intimacy relationships and challenges in human interactions

Abstract

3The pseudo-intimacy relationship of user-platform becomes a new paradigm for human interactionThe human-computer society could not exist without emotions assuming the role of the glue. (Gan and Wang, 2024）However, although emotions in HCI have received attention from scholars of affective computing, such as Rosalind Pickard, since the end of the last century, and “para-social relationship” has been discussed in media studies for decades, yet emotions have been marginalized in the study of user-platform relationships in the field of sociology for a long time. This is mainly due to the stereotype of “emotion-rationality” dichotomy among some scholars. (Yuan, 2021) In recent years, research within social robotics has made significant strides in enhancing robots' emotional capabilities to improve their capacity for empathy and social engagement with humans. (Marcos-Pablos and García-Peñalvo, 2022). Sociological theorists are increasingly recognizing that, along with the algorithmic platform's anthropomorphic development (Wu et al., 2022; Zhao and Li, 2023), the most distinct boundary between HCI and interpersonal social interaction - the authenticity of the interaction object (Giles, 2002) - has been broken. The user-platform relationship has beyond the "para-social relationship" defined by HCI scholars, resulting in a "pseudo-intimacy relationship" between humans and humanlike entities. This is evident in current HCI, where users anthropomorphize and idealize computers based on their emotional intelligence, forming social relationships that are more satisfying than face-to-face ones.The user-platform emotional relationship is thoroughly elucidated in the context of immediate interaction, and partially satisfying the human need for intimacyAnthropocentrism posits that humans have an inherent tendency to anthropomorphize non-human entities, driven by a desire to engage and connect with society (Epley and Cacioppo, 2007). In Alone Together, Sherry Turkle, a professor of sociology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), examined the psychological phenomenon whereby individuals forge intimate connections with computers. She argues that humans can develop emotional relationships with computers, even may regard them as significant others akin to family and friends. (Sherry, 2014). This human-computer relationship established on this premise—particularly in the context of social media—mimics emotional bonds found among humans. However, it lacks the depth and complexity characteristic of genuine human interactions, which is somewhat constrained by the technological advancements available at that time. Since then, scholars have increasingly suggested that individuals may integrate computers into their interpersonal networks and become emotionally reliant on their presence. (Thomas and Davenport, 2018; Wang, 2023; Wang et al., 2024; Gan, 2024)With the rapid advancement of AI's emotional capabilities and the widespread adoption of intelligent algorithmic platforms, this perspective is increasingly validated. Algorithmic technologies endowed with emotional intelligence facilitate instantaneous bidirectional interactions between users and platforms within the realm of emotional communication. (Ke and Song, 2021; Hong and Huang, 2024) Based on the emotional purpose of human communication, this paper characterizes it as "pseudo-intimacy relationship". In this relationship, due to the lack of nonverbal social cues in face-to-face interactions, instant emotional interactions between users and platforms mediated by affective AI may lead users to overinterpret limited information (Walther et al., 2015), thereby leading to an unhealthy development of the relationship between the two.In terms of emotional interaction, the enhancement of algorithmic emotional intelligence not only made algorithmic platforms novel objects of human interaction but also awakened and partially satisfied the l