Event Details:
Join us on May 6th 12-1pm PT to hear from Dr. Dunigan Folk about whether AI companionship promotes or undermines social connection.
Can AI Companions Reduce Loneliness?
Millions of people around the world are turning to AI for companionship. What does the growing prevalence of digital friends mean for social connection? While some hope that AI companions represent a scalable tool for combating loneliness, others fear they will only deepen disconnection. In this talk, Dr. Folk will present research examining the psychological consequences of turning to AI for companionship. Drawing on longitudinal, experimental, and cross-cultural studies, Dr. Folk will discuss whether AI companionship promotes or undermines social connection over the short and long term, and why some individuals and cultures connect more readily with AI than others. Together, these studies highlight the promises and pitfalls of seeking connection through AI and raise broader questions about the nature of rewarding social relationships.
About the Speaker
Dr. Dunigan Folk's research focuses on how time use and emerging technology influence our happiness and feelings of social connection. In particular, he is interested in how turning to AI for companionship impacts people’s loneliness and well-being. Dr. Folk received his PhD in Social and Personality Psychology from the University of British Columbia and is now a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Pennsylvania.
Moderator
Shannon Wiltsey Stirman, PhD is a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford and a Psychologist at the National Center for PTSD's Dissemination and Training Division. She is the co-Director of Stanford's CREATE Center. Areas of research emphasis include implementation science (particularly training, fidelity, adaptation and sustainment), evidence-based treatment for PTSD, depression, suicide prevention, and use of technology to support access to evidence-based mental health interventions. As a co-lead of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science's Mental Health Innovation and Technology Hub, she worked with a team at Stanford to develop Pause a Moment, a digital wellbeing program for healthcare workers who experience COVID-19 stressors (pam.stanford.edu). Most recently, she has been working on the use of Large Language Models to support evidence-based mental health interventions. She serves on the leadership committee of Stanford's AI for Mental Health Initiative.
CME credits: You may be eligible to receive CME credits for attending this webinar. More information will be provided at the start of the event. If you have questions, please reach out to CREATE (create-alacrity-center@stanford.edu).
Recording: This event will be recorded and a password protected recording will be shared with our CREATE community. We ask that participants do not use AI note taking or recording tools unless they are needed for personal accessibility purposes.