Loneliness 'epidemic': Americans seek solace in AI companion chatbots

Artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots will chip in to satisfy the all-too-human need for comfort this festive season, when the loneliness epidemic in the United States becomes more acute.

- Bhagyashree Garekar

On Dec 5, US Surgeon-General Vivek Murthy launched a campaign inviting Americans to pick five actions over five days in a row to connect with people in their lives simple things like express gratitude, ask for help and offer help.

Many Americans will pick digital companions instead.

Millions of them are flocking to an array of personable, witty and even warm chatbots that have mushroomed, thanks to an intersection of rapid strides in Al with surging, unmet needs for companionship.

One in two adults in the US reports feeling lonely. And being alone rankles most during the festive season, in a trend well documented through surveys.

Three in 10 American adults are not married or living with a partner or in a committed romantic relationship, a study by the Pew Research Centre in 2022 found.

It also said nearly half of all young adults, aged 18 to 28, are single. Some 34 per cent of the women and a far greater proportion 63 per cent of the men.

In a report in May 2023, Dr Murthy said he felt troubled when Americans began telling him that they felt isolated, invisible and insignificant.

"Even when they couldn't put their finger on the word 'lonely, time and time again, people of all ages and socio-economic backgrounds, from every corner of the country, would tell me, 'I have to shoulder all of life's burdens by myself', or 'If I disappear tomorrow, no one will even notice"" The Surgeon-General serves as the nation's doctor, providing Americans with scientific information on how to improve their health.