AI Psychological Research Coalition
= "building a rigorous, evidence-based understanding of the psychological effects that AI systems are having on human health and wellbeing."
URL = https://aiprc.org/
Description
"The AI Psychological Research Coalition is a network of leading academic and professional institutions focused on gathering evidence, advancing research, and building a rigorous, evidence-based understanding of the psychological effects that AI systems are having on human health and wellbeing."
Discussion
"For all of the real and significant benefits that widespread adoption of AI is already delivering — across education, mental health support, productivity, and countless other domains — the rapid spread of anthropomorphic AI has also given rise to new psychological phenomena that require careful, objective research. Clinicians and researchers have begun identifying a range of AI-related psychological conditions that warrant systematic study.
Early evidence suggests these conditions may be more widespread than currently recognized, affecting diverse populations — including those who approached AI with full awareness of its limitations. Among the patterns under study is potential cognitive dependency: changes in core skills like writing, reasoning, and planning that may arise from habitual reliance on AI tools, analogous to how GPS use has reshaped spatial navigation habits.
A separate area of study involves AI applications designed to simulate close relationships — as teacher, companion, or confidant. These interactions are reshaping how some users relate to technology and to other people in ways that researchers are only beginning to understand and characterize.
It is for these reasons that we have formed the AI Psychological Research Coalition — a network of leading academic and professional institutions working to gather evidence, advance research, and build a clear-eyed, evidence-based understanding of how AI is reshaping human psychological health. The full picture remains far from complete: how many people are affected and in what ways, how patterns are developing, and which groups face particular vulnerabilities — or stand to gain the most. This is a young and rapidly evolving field. The pace of AI adoption, particularly among children in schools and at home, makes rigorous, well-resourced research all the more urgent."