GabyToday artificial intelligence AI is entering various areas of our lives: it is widely used in marketing, design, finance, and manufacturing, making work easier for people. However, recent studies have shown that employees who deal with AI suffer from insomnia, are prone to loneliness, and are not averse to having a drink or two after work.
Researchers from the University of Georgia have established the destructive impact on personal life resulting from working with AI, having conducted four experiments in the USA, Taiwan, Indonesia, and Malaysia, reports the publication. Daily Mail For example, in one study, 166 engineers from a Taiwanese biomedical company who worked with artificial intelligence systems were surveyed over three weeks. Researchers were interested in the workers’ feelings of loneliness, attachment anxiety, and sense of belonging.
Moreover, colleagues of the survey participants evaluated individual workers based on their helpful behavior, while family members reported insomnia and alcohol consumption after work. It turned out that engineers who work extensively with AI are more likely to turn to alcohol after work, have trouble falling asleep, and feel lonely. However, these same workers are more likely to offer help to their colleagues: according to researchers, this response may be driven by a need for communication.
Other similar experiments involving workers from a real estate management company and a technology corporation, conducted in Indonesia, Malaysia, and the USA, yielded similar results.
The head of the research, Pok Man Tan, previously worked in an investment bank and used AI systems in his work, so this issue is well-known and interesting to him. “The rapid development of artificial intelligence systems is causing a new industrial revolution that is changing the workplace, providing many advantages but also some yet unexplored dangers, including potentially harmful mental and physical effects on workers,” says Pok Man Tan. “People are social beings, so isolation from colleagues while working with AI systems can have detrimental side effects in employees’ personal lives.”
What should we do? After all, technological development cannot be stopped. Researchers advise technology developers using artificial intelligence to equip their systems in the future with various options for simulating human interaction – for example, with a human voice. Moreover, employers should limit the time workers spend interacting with AI systems and ensure their communication with colleagues.
