How AI Chatbots Are Changing the Future of Communication

A man talking to an AI chatbot in a depiction of the future of communication

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What are the pros and cons of using AI chatbots? Are chatbots like ChatGPT the future of communication? How are chatbots changing how we connect with other humans?

The growing prevalence and sophistication of chatbots is reshaping human language, communication, and relationships. As people interact with increasingly human-like chatbots, their conversations with humans could turn more transactional, diluting their ability to empathize and build rapport.

Continue reading for a look at chatbots’ effects on communication and the potential risks.

How Chatbots Are Changing Communication

As chatbots become increasingly sophisticated and pervasive, they’re dramatically reshaping human language, communication, and relationships. Here’s a look at the future of communication if AI chatbots continue to become increasingly prevalent.

Background

Chatbots originated in the 1960s, with basic software programs like ELIZA designed to hold rudimentary conversations using pattern matching and keywords. Thirty years later, businesses started using chatbots in customer service. Today, people are using chatbots as virtual assistants, friends, and even romantic partners.

The introduction of chatbots like ChatGPT is expected to drive dramatic growth in generative AI in the coming years, with experts predicting a market surge from $40 billion to nearly $1.3 trillion by 2032. As more industries invest heavily in chatbots in the coming years, these tools will increasingly permeate everyday life and alter people’s relationships with both technology and humans.

Effects on Language and Communication

Scientists assert that chatbots and other technologies are altering language and how people communicate. To keep up with the rapid pace of online communications, people are shortening sentences and using abbreviations, slang, and visual aids like stickers, memes, and emojis to communicate thoughts they used to communicate in full. Some researchers believe that chatbots could contribute to users losing some of their personal voice.

Experts also warn that people’s conversations with other humans could become more transactional if they broadly adopt the cool, precise tone and communication style that often yields strong results when giving chatbots directives.

Transforming Technology Interactions

As chatbot technology improves, people’s relationships with it are evolving—in ways that affect their relationships with other people, as well.

First, expectations of chatbots are growing: People increasingly expect them to understand context, personalize responses, and handle more complex queries.

Then, because they’re growing more comfortable interacting with these technologies, people’s desire to speak with other humans is lessening:

62% of consumers now say they’d rather use a chatbot than wait for assistance from a human.
Regular encounters with chatbots are making people less patient.
Forty percent of people now say they prefer online communication over face-to-face conversations.

Experts say that at its extreme, prolonged conversations with the technology is leading to new forms of “friendship” and intimate relationships. The more chatbots evolve to have natural and human-like interactions, the more likely people will be to perceive them as human.

Potential Risks and Concerns

Psychologists warn that an over-reliance on chatbots for social interaction could stunt interpersonal skills as it reduces face-to-face interactions crucial to learning to relate to others.

Experts offer further caution about becoming emotionally over-reliant on chatbots, which don’t innately understand right from wrong, can’t necessarily recognize harmful or dangerous speech, and can give dangerous advice.