Meet the Professor Researching Human-AI Relationships & Beyond

As our world gets deeply intertwined with technology, modern humans are beginning to turn towards machines and AI for comfort, connection, intimacy and more. Interestingly, Marco Dehnert, a researcher at the U of A, is looking into the very salient aspects of human connection and communication with AI and machines.  

Dehnert is an assistant professor of communication and technology and the director of the AI and Robotics for Connection (ARC) lab at the U of A. His areas of research include human-machine communication (HMC); human-AI relationships, sexuality, connection and disconnection; and the various aspects and impacts of technology on human beings and beyond. We had the opportunity to interview him, and here is what we learned: 

Question: What can you tell us about the fascinating research that is currently underway in the ARC lab?  

Answer: Currently, we are designing a study to measure some of the human-machine interaction outcome variables where we will have students interact with the social robots in the lab. In addition to this, there are also two major strands of research happening currently. The first one is related to grief and how technology is changing the process of grieving for people, for instance, with a device such as a griefbot - which is a large language model that operates similar to something like ChatGPT. However, while ChatGPT is trained on large public datasets, a griefbot is trained on a specific deceased person's personal data and is designed to simulate that person. There's actually very little evidence-based research on how such technology could impact people, yet many users are starting to engage with them. We've completed the first phase of this study where we interviewed mental health practitioners like grief counselors, relational therapists, chaplains, etc. to get their perspective on grieving. We're currently in the final stages of putting it together, and we hope to publish these findings soon. And then, we will use that as a launch board for empirical testing in a very controlled, HIPAA-compliant manner with an interdisciplinary team that includes engineers, mental health practitioners and others. 

The other strand of research focuses more on the romantic relationships that people are starting to form with AI chatbots such as Replika, Character.AI and Nomi, for example. We are seeing that people are falling in love with these devices or breaking up with them, going so far as suing them for the harm that occurred to them during these processes. Our research centers around finding answers to important questions like what kinds of people are more likely to be drawn to these devices, or what could be the short-term and long-term effects of these devices, or what it is even like to be in a relationship with an AI chatbot, etc. We have also received a Research Cultivation Grant from the National Communication Association to fund a study to help us understand not just how people form or experience relationships but also breakup experiences with AI companions. 

Q: Can you give us a sneak peek of the equipment at activities at ARC Lab? 

A: Of course! So, ARC stands for AI and Robots for Connection, a lab that I have built as a part of the Center for Communication Research (CCR). The CCR is a broad research space within the Department of Communication, housed in Kimpel Hall, with multiple affiliated labs. With the help of internal funding as well as a Faculty Equipment and Technology Grant from the Honors College, I have been able to purchase more than a dozen units of different types of social robots, and some that are like a Roomba-pet combination that can roll around on the floor. At ARC, we generally study how technologies, such as AI and robots, impact human connection and disconnection -- what we in research call the relational side of things. We are working on empirical research that is experimental, qualitative and survey driven. 

Q: What can you tell our readers about the field of HMC? 

A: I think human-machine communication or HMC, as it is commonly abbreviated, is the response of the communication studies discipline to technological changes. So, human-machine communication is an inter-disciplinary subfield of communication studies that draws from human computer interaction (or HCI), human robot interaction (or HRI), psychology and even fields like the social construction of technology. The research revolves around all kinds of machines and technology - it could be a social robot, like Pepper, or a software like ChatGPT, or a virtual avatar in a VR situation, etc. 

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Interested in finding out more about the ARC Lab and participating in its groundbreaking cross-disciplinary research? Dehnert is looking to recruit new undergraduate and graduate students to support the lab. There is an opportunity to gain independent study credit and possibly more! Get in touch with him at mdehnert@uark.edu.