People are using chatbots in all kinds of ways — to search the web, get help with an online purchase, sometimes even for counseling. But there's a lot about this human-AI interaction we don't fully understand.
Do these chatbots effectively combat loneliness or worsen social isolation?
The answer — so far — is complicated, according to Cathy Fang, a second-year PhD student at MIT Media Lab who, along with researchers from OpenAI, studied how chatbot use affects human social and emotional wellbeing.
Marketplace’s Meghan McCarty Carino spoke with Fang about the findings and implications of the study.