# "I Am the One and Only, Your Cyber BFF": Understanding the Impact of GenAI Requires Understanding the Impact of Anthropomorphic AI

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2410.08526 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.08526/

## Key facts

- Cited by 8 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 24 of its 71 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 11 Oct 2024.

## Builds on (most cited first, 24 of 24)

- [Generative Agents: Interactive Simulacra of Human Behavior](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2304.03442/) (2023)
- [Measurement and Fairness](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1912.05511/) (2019)
- [Social Simulacra: Creating Populated Prototypes for Social Computing Systems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2208.04024/) (2022)
- [Role-Play with Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.16367/) (2023)
- [Do LLMs exhibit human-like response biases? A case study in survey design](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2311.04076/) (2023)
- [Harms from Increasingly Agentic Algorithmic Systems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2302.10329/) (2023)
- [The Ethics of Advanced AI Assistants](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.16244/) (2024)
- [How Different Groups Prioritize Ethical Values for Responsible AI](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2205.07722/) (2022)
- [The Turing Trap: The Promise & Peril of Human-Like Artificial Intelligence](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2201.04200/) (2022)
- [Mirages: On Anthropomorphism in Dialogue Systems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.09800/) (2023)
- [AnthroScore: A Computational Linguistic Measure of Anthropomorphism](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.02056/) (2024)
- [Rethinking Fairness: An Interdisciplinary Survey of Critiques of Hegemonic ML Fairness Approaches](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2205.04460/) (2022)
- [Real Risks of Fake Data: Synthetic Data, Diversity-Washing and Consent Circumvention](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2405.01820/) (2024)
- [Position: Key Claims in LLM Research Have a Long Tail of Footnotes](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.07120/) (2023)
- [From "AI" to Probabilistic Automation: How Does Anthropomorphization of Technical Systems Descriptions Influence Trust?](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.16047/) (2024)
- [Transparent AI Disclosure Obligations: Who, What, When, Where, Why, How](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2403.06823/) (2024)
- [Alexa, Google, Siri: What are Your Pronouns? Gender and Anthropomorphism in the Design and Perception of Conversational Assistants](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2106.02578/) (2021)
- [A Mulching Proposal](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1908.06166/) (2019)
- [Designing for Human Rights in AI](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2005.04949/) (2020)
- [Mimetic Models: Ethical Implications of AI that Acts Like You](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2207.09394/) (2022)
- [Characterizing and modeling harms from interactions with design patterns in AI interfaces](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.11370/) (2024)
- [Responsible AI Research Needs Impact Statements Too](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2311.11776/) (2023)
- [The Language Labyrinth: Constructive Critique on the Terminology Used in the AI Discourse](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2307.10292/) (2023)
- [Towards a Harms Taxonomy of AI Likeness Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2407.12030/) (2024)

## Built on by (most cited first, 8 of 8)

- [Multi-turn Evaluation of Anthropomorphic Behaviours in Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.07077/) (2025)
- [Taxonomy of User Needs and Actions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2510.06124/) (2025)
- [A Taxonomy of Linguistic Expressions That Contribute To Anthropomorphism of Language Technologies](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.09870/) (2025)
- [Dehumanizing Machines: Mitigating Anthropomorphic Behaviors in Text Generation Systems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.14019/) (2025)
- [From tools to thieves: Measuring and understanding public perceptions of AI through crowdsourced metaphors](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2501.18045/) (2025)
- [Rigor in AI: Doing Rigorous AI Work Requires a Broader, Responsible AI-Informed Conception of Rigor](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.14652/) (2025)
- [Examining Human-Like Behaviors in LLMs: A Multi-Dimensional Analysis of Model Behaviors, User Factors, and System Prompts](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2606.18258/) (2026)
- [Does Anthropomorphic Language Impact Public Perceptions of AI?](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2606.29121/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Many state-of-the-art generative AI (GenAI) systems are increasingly prone to anthropomorphic behaviors, i.e., to generating outputs that are perceived to be human-like. While this has led to scholars increasingly raising concerns about possible negative impacts such anthropomorphic AI systems can give rise to, anthropomorphism in AI development, deployment, and use remains vastly overlooked, understudied, and underspecified. In this perspective, we argue that we cannot thoroughly map the social impacts of generative AI without mapping the social impacts of anthropomorphic AI, and outline a call to action.