When Risk Feels Like Help, That's the Risk

AI use can shape human psychology in ways that are still being studied, but early findings show meaningful harm. Dependence on AI has been associated with anxiety and depression in medical students. Exposure to sycophantic AI responses can increase conviction during interpersonal conflicts while reducing willingness to apologize or make amends. After about ten minutes of AI-assisted problem-solving, participants can perform worse and give up more frequently without AI. People already use AI for emotional support and relational advice, so harm can occur before evidence and regulation catch up. The situation is compared to giving people cars without driver’s education, safety guidance, or licensing, leaving many to learn through avoidable mistakes.

"The research on how artificial intelligence (AI) actually shapes human psychology is still forming, but we have early signals and cause for professional concern. A Peruvian study found that dependence on AI correlated with anxiety and depression in medical students (Sosa & Huancahuire-Vega, 2026). A Stanford study found that exposure to sycophantic AI responses measurably increased users' conviction that they were right in interpersonal conflicts while reducing their willingness to apologize or make amends (Cheng et al., 2026)."

"A 2026 study by Liu et al. found that after approximately 10 minutes of AI-assisted problem-solving, participants performed significantly worse and gave up more frequently without AI. The research need is real, and the data is accumulating, but clinicians and regulators are studying yesterday's models while AI companies are releasing tomorrow's. We know people are already using these tools for emotional support, for relational advice, for processing hard moments. They are not waiting for the research."

"The image that came to me is that we handed everyone a car without driver's ed. No safety manual. No instruction on how the vehicle actually works. No license required. Some drivers are fine. They figured it out intuitively, or they got lucky with their habits. A lot of people are having fender benders, getting subtly shaped by something they do not full"

Read at Psychology Today