Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14279/33542
Title: Digital Mirrors: AI Companions and the Self
Authors: Kouros, Theodoros 
Papa, Venetia 
Major Field of Science: Social Sciences
Field Category: Media and Communications
Keywords: computers as social actors;human-computer interactions;self-presentation;artificial intelligence;conversational artificial intelligence
Issue Date: 8-Oct-2024
Source: Societies, 2024, vol.14, iss. 10
Volume: 14
Issue: 10
Journal: Societies 
Abstract: This exploratory study examines the socio-technical dynamics of Artificial Intelligence Companions (AICs), focusing on user interactions with AI platforms like Replika 9.35.1. Through qualitative analysis, including user interviews and digital ethnography, we explored the nuanced roles played by these AIs in social interactions. Findings revealed that users often form emotional attachments to their AICs, viewing them as empathetic and supportive, thus enhancing emotional well-being. This study highlights how AI companions provide a safe space for self-expression and identity exploration, often without fear of judgment, offering a backstage setting in Goffmanian terms. This research contributes to the discourse on AI’s societal integration, emphasizing how, in interactions with AICs, users often craft and experiment with their identities by acting in ways they would avoid in face-to-face or human-human online interactions due to fear of judgment. This reflects front-stage behavior, in which users manage audience perceptions. Conversely, the backstage, typically hidden, is somewhat disclosed to AICs, revealing deeper aspects of the self.
URI: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14279/33542
ISSN: 20754698
DOI: 10.3390/soc14100200
Type: Article
Affiliation : Cyprus University of Technology 
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed
Appears in Collections:Άρθρα/Articles

Files in This Item:
File Description SizeFormat
societies-14-00200.pdfopen access247.07 kBAdobe PDFView/Open
CORE Recommender
Sorry the service is unavailable at the moment. Please try again later.
Show full item record

Page view(s)

34
Last Week
6
Last month
checked on Jan 30, 2025

Download(s)

28
checked on Jan 30, 2025

Google ScholarTM

Check

Altmetric


This item is licensed under a Creative Commons License Creative Commons