Abstract / Summary
Abstract Rapid global population ageing has intensified the risk of an emerging loneliness crisis. This has prompted growing interest in technologies such as ‘Social’ AI (SAI) as a supportive stopgap. Yet it remains unclear how SAI interacts with different mixes of loneliness and other emotions, and whether this ‘lonely-emotion complex’ confounds its effectiveness as a support mechanism. This scoping review addresses three questions: Do different types of loneliness interact differently with SAI use? What emotions beyond loneliness emerge when older adults first engage with SAI? How do emotions complicate the longer-term use of SAI to manage loneliness? We completed a scoping review of 16 studies on older adults and identified eight overarching themes: (1) negative emotions and scepticism toward SAI; (2) positive emotions and SAI as a safe haven; (3) SAI and emotional work; (4) SAI as a facilitator of social interaction; (5) preferences and personalisation of SAI; (6) demographic and social-structural influences; (7) under- and over-attachment due to fear and anxiety over SAI engagement; and (8) concerns over privacy, control, and big tech. This review contributes to understanding ‘lonely-emotional complexes’ around SAI use in three ways. First, it highlights how different forms of loneliness, including social, emotional, collective, and existential, are implicitly present but insufficiently recognised or theorized in the SAI literature. Second, it shows how various emotions, including comfort, attachment, ambivalence, and unease, are shaped by users’ social experiences and contexts, and influence engagement with SAI. Third, it shows that using SAI to emotionally manage loneliness is itself an emotionally evocative process that can foster companionship and connection but also deepen collective loneliness. The key finding is that SAI use may unintentionally impact other emotions besides loneliness, and that the presence of ‘lonely-emotional complexity’ cautions against any straightforward applications of SAIs as interventions for loneliness.