Designing Systems for Cognitive Augmentation

Studies suggest benefits as well as harms from digital companion apps — but scientists worry about long-term dependency.

New research raises concerns that emotional reliance on AI chatbots could deepen social isolation for some users.

Higher use of chatbots like ChatGPT may correspond with increased loneliness and less time spent socializing with other people

Or are they kidding us into thinking they are looking out for our interests?

OpenAI and MIT’s Media Lab have concluded that using ChatGPT may actually worsen feelings of loneliness for heavy users.

Studies show those who engage emotionally with bot rely on it more and have fewer real-life relationships

New research from the Media Lab and OpenAI shows that heavy chatbot usage is correlated with loneliness and reduced socialization.

The results are nuanced, since feelings of loneliness and social isolation often fluctuate and can be influenced by various factors.

A new pair of studies from MIT Media Lab and OpenAI found that frequent chatbot users experience more loneliness and emotional dependence.

In The New York Times, Jessica Grose considers the potential impacts of chatbots on children and teens.

New research from OpenAI and MIT finds that ChatGPT could be linked to loneliness for some frequent users.

We’re starting to get a better sense of how chatbots are affecting us—but there’s still a lot we don’t know.

Marketplace’s Meghan McCarty Carino spoke with Media Lab researcher Cathy Fang about the findings and implications of the study.

It’s what psychologists call self-continuity, and can improve your health and well-being

Dr. Nathan Whitmore is working on a revolutionary project to boost sleep quality, performance, and memory.

WIRED’s advice columnist cracks open the publication’s archive to consider past promises about AI agents.

Technologists say chatbots are a remedy for the loneliness epidemic, but looking to an algorithm for companionship can be dangerous.

“We should think more about how we want to use this technology to help people."

Prof. Maes's research lies at the intersection of human-computer interaction and artificial intelligence.

Robert Mahari talks to host Krys Boyd about the potential risks of human-AI companionship.

How could the increased use of AI lead humans to form addictive relationships with AI?

At MIT, the Open Dance Lab is exploring how to preserve an ancient dance form with the help of artificial intelligence.

Experts warn AI-powered military systems may eventually push battlefield decision-making beyond the limits of human cognition

A growing body of research shows how AI can subtly mislead users—and even implant false memories.

Stigma around napping in American workplaces is slowly changing.

Something peculiar and slightly unexpected has happened: people have started forming relationships with AI systems.

Today Vega is the co-founder and CEO of Augmental.

Media Lab alum Adam Haar Horowitz and artist Carsten Höller discuss their Dream Hotel collaboration.

Calling herself both artist and engineer, Xin Liu incorporates elements of space exploration, biotech, and data science into her projects.

“We have to think a lot more carefully about how we design the interaction between people and AI.”

How the intensity of emotional experiences affects your focus.

News coverage of a research collaboration with OpenAI investigating how chatbots affect users' social and emotional wellbeing

MeMic is a wearable recording device developed in the Media Lab’s Fluid Interfaces group.

Alum Adam Haar and artist Carsten Höller talk about the Dream Hotel—a collaboration that began with Höller’s 2021 MIT CAST residency.

For ACM Crossroads, Cathy Fang talks to fellow Media Lab student Patrick Chwalek about his work developing sensor systems.

Bell was a high school intern with the Fluid Interfaces group, where he helped to develop assistive cognitive tools.

The PhD research of alum Guillermo Bernal (Fluid Interfaces group), with current Affective Computing group researcher Nelson Hida…

Professor Pattie Maes chose a career in computer science for practical reasons, but was drawn to the amazing research being done at MIT.

Researcher Nataliya Kosmyna and other experts discuss the potential of and safeguards needed for brain-computer interfaces (BCIs).

Future You, developed by Dr. ​​Pat Pataranutaporn, allows users to explore possible futures by chatting with an older version of themselves.

In Scientific American, Dr. Pat Pataranutaporn and others consider the ways that art shapes our understanding of and interactions with AI.

Professor Pattie Maes and research scientist Nataliya Kosmyna demonstrate a wearable brain-computer interface called AttentivU.