From Virtual Companions to Forbidden Attractions: The Seductive Rise of Artificial Intelligence Love, Loneliness, and Intimacy—A Systematic Review
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Adewale et al.'s systematic review of 37 research studies on LLM-CB companions identified anthropomorphism, emotional projection, and design features (e.g., personalization and adaptation) as important factors for the development of a pseudosocial bond with the LLM-CB, which in turn risks emotional dependency and social isolation.
“Adewale et al. conducted a systematic review on the use of LLM-CB companions on 37 research studies and identified anthropomorphism, emotional projection, and design features (e.g., personalization and adaptation) as important factors for the development of a pseudosocial bond with the LLM-CB, which in turn risks emotional dependency and social isolation107.”
From A scoping review on the mental health harms of LLM-based chatbots (2026) · cites this paper as [107]
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Untitled work
Eom, D., Renner, J., & Chinn, S. (2026) · arXiv (preprint)
- Authors
- Adewale, M. D., & Muhammad, U. I.
- Affiliations
- National Open University of Nigeria (NG)
- Corresponding author
- Adewale, Muyideen Dele
- Venue
- Journal of Technology in Behavioral Science
- Published
- 2025-07-24
- ISSN
- 2366-5963 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W4412632098
- Cited by
- 46
- References
- 36
- Citations by year
- 2026: 43 · 2025: 3
- FWCI
- 7.08
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Update notices
- correction (2026-04-22)
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- Locations
- Journal of Technology in Behavioral Science (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Social Robot Interaction and HRI
- Social Sciences › Safety Research › Ethics and Social Impacts of AI
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Artificial Intelligence › AI in Service Interactions
- Keywords
- AI companions, social chatbots, human-AI relationship, loneliness, intimacy, anthropomorphism, dependency, privacy violations, algorithmic manipulation, data exploitation, authenticity, attachment theory, ethical AI design, AI regulation, Replika
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