ABSTRACT

Artificial intelligence (AI) companiosns (e.g., social machine agents, social robots) are becoming increasingly available. Considering that AI companions can be beneficial for individuals seeking companionships or relationships, the social and relational aspects of an AI companion are important to investigate. To understand people’s perceptions of an AI companion, this study examines the roles of social presence and warmth of an AI companion through an online experiment. Primary findings indicate that social presence of a disembodied AI companion fosters greater perceived usefulness of the AI companion and willingness to recommend the AI companion for lonely individuals. Collectively, the study highlights the importance of social presence for disembodied AI companions.

摘要

人工智能 (AI) 伴侣（例如，社交机器代理、社交机器人）变得越来越可用。考虑到 AI 同伴可能对寻求同伴关系或关系的个人有益，因此 AI 同伴的社会和关系方面的研究很重要。为了了解人们对 AI 伴侣的看法，本研究通过在线实验检验了 AI 伴侣的社交临场感和温暖的作用。初步研究结果表明，脱离实体的 AI 伴侣的社会存在促进了 AI 伴侣的更大感知有用性以及向孤独的人推荐 AI 伴侣的意愿。总的来说，这项研究强调了社交存在对于无实体的 AI 同伴的重要性。