DeepSeek represents an advanced LLM from China. Whereas many people use LLMs such as DeepSeek in work related areas, recent research showed that people around the globe use LLMs also as AI-companions. In a new paper published in Asian Journal of Psychiatry, Christian Montag & colleagues were interested to understand how loneliness would link to frequency of using DeepSeek and seeing DeepSeek as a companion.
These are some of the findings:
π Interestingly, loneliness is slightly negatively associated with frequency of DeepSeek use and using DeepSeek as an AI-companion. One interpretation could be that lonely people actually want to see a real person and not a chatbot. But the present work is limited by cross-sectional and data and no causality can be inferred.
π Further, having a positive attitude toward using DeepSeek in the healthcare sector is robustly and positively associated with scores on the DeepSeek-Companion-Scale.
π Finally, the paper introduces the DeepSeek Companion Scale to the literature.