Using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to send text messages to friends may not be a good idea. A recent study shows that it can make you seem insincere and not genuine.
The study, conducted by Ohio State University researchers, found that participants felt less satisfied with their relationships when receiving AI-assisted messages from a fictional friend.
According to Bingjie Liu, the research’s lead author, people value the effort that goes into writing a personal message. When friends use AI to assist in composing messages, it implies that they are not putting in the same level of effort as those who write the messages themselves. Liu explains that people want their friends to come up with original messages without any help from AI or other people.
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During the study, participants were asked to write a short message to “Taylor” describing one of three scenarios: looking for advice regarding colleague-related conflict, feeling tired and needing emotional support, or talking about an upcoming birthday. All participants received a reply from the fictional Taylor, with some of them being told that AI was used to enhance the message, while others were informed that a writing group member helped edit, and the remainder were told that Taylor personally edited the reply.
The results showed that participants considered the replies crafted by AI to be less appropriate in comparison to the ones written solely by Taylor. Additionally, participants expressed lower satisfaction with the relationship, feeling that Taylor did not meet their needs as a close friend. They also reported feeling uncertain about their relationship with Taylor because of the AI-assisted message. Interestingly, the study found that participants had a similar negative perception when a message was edited by another person.
These findings suggest that relying on AI to compose messages could have negative consequences for relationships. According to Liu, people want to see genuine investment and effort in their friendships. Using AI as a shortcut may give the impression that one is not sincere or authentic. Liu emphasizes that convenience should not outweigh sincerity and authenticity in relationships.