Issue Risk that companion chatbots displace rather than complement human contact

Summary

While acknowledging that companion chatbots can ease loneliness, the report warns about the side effects of overuse. Leaning on them heavily may create a degree of dependence and reduce social interaction, so that they push human contact aside rather than supplement it. The report grounds this in the view that people are social beings and in evidence that much of long-term wellbeing grows out of relationships with others. The challenge, then, is to harness what chatbots can do for mental and emotional wellbeing without losing sight of the value of real contact with people. The concern arises at a time when 10.5 percent of Spaniards aged 16 and over reported unwanted loneliness in 2022. With services such as ZicoAsis for the young and Serenia for older people already running in Spain, striking that balance is a present question.