# Artificial intelligence in communication impacts language and social relationships

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2102.05756 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2102.05756/

## Key facts

- Cited by 22 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 4 of its 57 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 10 Feb 2021.

## Builds on (most cited first, 4 of 4)

- [Efficient Natural Language Response Suggestion for Smart Reply](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1705.00652/) (2017)
- [Conversations Gone Awry: Detecting Early Signs of Conversational Failure](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1805.05345/) (2018)
- [Smart Reply: Automated Response Suggestion for Email](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1606.04870/) (2016)
- [Review of state-of-the-arts in artificial intelligence with application to AI safety problem](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1605.04232/) (2016)

## Built on by (most cited first, 22 of 22)

- [Cultural Bias and Cultural Alignment of Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2311.14096/) (2023)
- [Introducing v0.5 of the AI Safety Benchmark from MLCommons](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.12241/) (2024)
- [AI Suggestions Homogenize Writing Toward Western Styles and Diminish Cultural Nuances](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2409.11360/) (2024)
- [Detoxifying Text with MaRCo: Controllable Revision with Experts and Anti-Experts](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2212.10543/) (2022)
- [The Homogenizing Effect of Large Language Models on Human Expression and Thought](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.01491/) (2025)
- [Interacting with next-phrase suggestions: How suggestion systems aid and influence the cognitive processes of writing](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2208.00636/) (2022)
- [From Text to Self: Users' Perceptions of Potential of AI on Interpersonal Communication and Self](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.03976/) (2023)
- [Perceptions of Sentient AI and Other Digital Minds: Evidence from the AI, Morality, and Sentience (AIMS) Survey](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2407.08867/) (2024)
- [Who Wrote this? How Smart Replies Impact Language and Agency in the Workplace](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2210.06470/) (2022)
- [Recognising, Anticipating, and Mitigating LLM Pollution of Online Behavioural Research](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.01390/) (2025)
- [Human-AI Interactions: Cognitive, Behavioral, and Emotional Impacts](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2510.17753/) (2025)
- [Towards Anthropomorphic Conversational AI Part I: A Practical Framework](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.04787/) (2025)
- [Arti-"fickle" Intelligence: Using LLMs as a Tool for Inference in the Political and Social Sciences](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2504.03822/) (2025)
- [More-than-Human Storytelling: Designing Longitudinal Narrative Engagements with Generative AI](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.23780/) (2025)
- ["I Hadn't Thought About That": Creators of Human-like AI Weigh in on Ethics And Neurodivergence](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.12098/) (2025)
- [AI Does Not Alter Perceptions of Text Messages](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.01726/) (2024)
- [Intersubjective Model of AI-mediated Communication: Augmenting Human-Human Text Chat through LLM-based Adaptive Agent Pair](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.18201/) (2025)
- [Detecting Effects of AI-Mediated Communication on Language Complexity and Sentiment](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2504.19556/) (2025)
- [Are AI Machines Making Humans Obsolete?](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.11719/) (2025)
- [Emotionally Vulnerable Subtype of Internet Gaming Disorder: Measuring and Exploring the Pathology of Problematic Generative AI Use](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2510.06908/) (2025)
- [AI-Mediated Communication Reshapes Social Structure in Opinion-Diverse Groups](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2510.21984/) (2025)
- [Memetic Capture: A Pluralistic Policy Framework for Governing AI-Driven Cultural Disempowerment](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2606.07802/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Artificial intelligence (AI) is now widely used to facilitate social interaction, but its impact on social relationships and communication is not well understood. We study the social consequences of one of the most pervasive AI applications: algorithmic response suggestions ("smart replies"). Two randomized experiments (n = 1036) provide evidence that a commercially-deployed AI changes how people interact with and perceive one another in pro-social and anti-social ways. We find that using algorithmic responses increases communication efficiency, use of positive emotional language, and positive evaluations by communication partners. However, consistent with common assumptions about the negative implications of AI, people are evaluated more negatively if they are suspected to be using algorithmic responses. Thus, even though AI can increase communication efficiency and improve interpersonal perceptions, it risks changing users' language production and continues to be viewed negatively.