Study finds asking AI for advice could be making you a worse person

Whether we like it or not, AI has infiltrated the workplace and employees are under pressure to use it. However, according to a new study, you may want to skip asking AI to help you manage matters of the heart. The two-part study, titled “Sycophantic AI decreases prosocial intentions and promotes dependence” was recently published in Science. The experiment made the case that using chatbots for personal advice and navigating emotional situations can be harmful because because the system is designed to tell people what they want to hear. Using chatbots may reinforce troubling behavior rather than help people take accountability for harm and apologize. A recent Cognitive FX poll found about 38% of Americans report using AI chatbots weekly for emotional support, while a recent Pew Research study found that 12% of teens use AI for advice. According to a KFF poll, a lack of insurance also drives usage, too, with uninsured adults being more likely than those with insurance to use it (30% vs.