Artificial Intimacy: A Utopian Dream, a Dystopian Reality
Examining how AI companions reshape human relationships and intimacy.
Project Overview
Loneliness has become a pervasive social issue across age groups, driving some people to seek emotional connection through AI companions.
This project explores the enchantment of artificial intimacy and its social and psychological implications for human relationships and society through secondary and contextual research.
Key Research Questions
- What is artificial intimacy? - What factors drive artificial intimacy? -What are the psychological and societal consequences of artificial intimacy over time?
Project outcome
A comprehensive contextual analysis of artificial intimacy, and a set of design recommendations for AI companions.
My Role
Design Researcher
The Team
Maria Sekyi - Design Researcher
industry
Humanity AI
Responsible AI
Ethical AI
Design attributes
Research Report
Design Recommendations
Skills
Secondary research · Contextual analysis
tools
Figjam, Figma, Elicit, Perplexity, Google Scholar, NoteBook LM
timeline
Jan - May 2025 (14 weeks, part-time)
Work at a Glance： Core Insight & Design Position
Despite unprecedented digital connectivity, loneliness has become pervasive across all age groups, driving people toward AI companionship. However, rather than solving this epidemic, AI intimacy risks worsening it by creating addictive dependencies that erode genuine human bonds.
As designers, we must shift this trajectory by reimagining AI's role: not as a substitute for connection, but as a catalyst for authentic human intimacy.
See the work in detail
Individual contextual research article|5-7 mins to scan
A Utopian Dream, a Dystopian Reality
In this article, I argue that our embrace of artificial intimacy, while offering short-term emotional benefits, ultimately risks deepening societal isolation.
Team Research and design recommendations slides|3-5 mins to scan
The Role of AI in the Epidemic of Loneliness: Is it enabler or savior?
These slides present a complete storytelling of the project, from research insights to design recommendations.