Conference: Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Human Connections

Human connection is a fundamental need, as essential to health and longevity as diet and exercise, and one of the strongest predictors of economic mobility and well-being. Yet Americans experiencing a profound loneliness epidemic, with wide-ranging consequences for public health, productivity, and social stability. At the very same time, artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly becoming embedded in everyday American life, with millions of citizens interacting with AI systems for conversation, support, and companionship. This conference brings together leading scholars across psychology, computer science, neuroscience, communication, anthropology, and related fields with applied scientists and figures at the coalface of AI to address urgent issues of broad public importance: how AI is reshaping human connections and human flourishing with translational benefits for individuals and society. Through invited talks, data blitzes, poster sessions, and a facilitated agenda-setting discussion, the conference examines how AI affects the core psychological tasks of friendship. The conference integrates perspectives from basic science, applied research, and technology development to unlock the next generation of human-technology relationship science. In addition to generating new collaborations and training early-career scholars, the conference produces shared research priorities and public-facing products with real-world translational benefits for years to come, positioning behavioral science to play a central role in understanding and shaping America’s health in an AI-driven world. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. NSF Award ID: 2611387 | Program: 01002627DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT | Principal Investigator: Jaimie Krems | Institution: University of California-Los Angeles, LOS ANGELES, CA | Award Amount: $49,949 View on NSF Award Search: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/show-award/?AWD_ID=2611387 View on Research.gov: https://www.research.gov/awardapi-service/v1/awards/2611387.html