AI can help people feel heard, but an AI label diminishes this impact

Author:

Yin Yidan1,Jia Nan2ORCID,Wakslak Cheryl J.2

Affiliation:

1. Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089

2. Department of Management and Organization, Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089

Abstract

People want to “feel heard” to perceive that they are understood, validated, and valued. Can AI serve the deeply human function of making others feel heard? Our research addresses two fundamental issues: Can AI generate responses that make human recipients feel heard, and how do human recipients react when they believe the response comes from AI? We conducted an experiment and a follow-up study to disentangle the effects of actual source of a message and the presumed source. We found that AI-generated messages made recipients feel more heard than human-generated messages and that AI was better at detecting emotions. However, recipients felt less heard when they realized that a message came from AI (vs. human). Finally, in a follow-up study where the responses were rated by third-party raters, we found that compared with humans, AI demonstrated superior discipline in offering emotional support, a crucial element in making individuals feel heard, while avoiding excessive practical suggestions, which may be less effective in achieving this goal. Our research underscores the potential and limitations of AI in meeting human psychological needs. These findings suggest that while AI demonstrates enhanced capabilities to provide emotional support, the devaluation of AI responses poses a key challenge for effectively leveraging AI’s capabilities.

Publisher

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Reference47 articles.

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