Human vs. machine-like representation in chatbot mental health counseling: the serial mediation of psychological distance and trust on compliance intention

Evaluating the Potential and Pitfalls of AI-Powered Conversational Agents as Humanlike Virtual Health Carers in the Remote Management of Noncommunicable Diseases: Scoping Review

BACKGROUND

The rising prevalence of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) worldwide and the high recent mortality rates (74.4%) associated with them, especially in low- and middle-income countries, is causing a substantial global burden of disease, necessitating innovative and sustainable long-term care solutions.

OBJECTIVE

This scoping review aims to investigate the impact of artificial intelligence (AI)-based conversational agents (CAs)-including chatbots, voicebots, and anthropomorphic digital avatars-as human-like health caregivers in the remote management of NCDs as well as identify critical areas for future research and provide insights into how these technologies might be used effectively in health care to personalize NCD management strategies.

METHODS

A broad literature search was conducted in July 2023 in 6 electronic databases-Ovid MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, PubMed, CINAHL, and Web of Science-using the search terms "conversational agents," "artificial intelligence," and "noncommunicable diseases," including their associated synonyms. We also manually searched gray literature using sources such as ProQuest Central, ResearchGate, ACM Digital Library, and Google Scholar. We included empirical studies published in English from January 2010 to July 2023 focusing solely on health care-oriented applications of CAs used for remote management of NCDs. The narrative synthesis approach was used to collate and summarize the relevant information extracted from the included studies.

RESULTS

The literature search yielded a total of 43 studies that matched the inclusion criteria. Our review unveiled four significant findings: (1) higher user acceptance and compliance with anthropomorphic and avatar-based CAs for remote care; (2) an existing gap in the development of personalized, empathetic, and contextually aware CAs for effective emotional and social interaction with users, along with limited consideration of ethical concerns such as data privacy and patient safety; (3) inadequate evidence of the efficacy of CAs in NCD self-management despite a moderate to high level of optimism among health care professionals regarding CAs' potential in remote health care; and (4) CAs primarily being used for supporting nonpharmacological interventions such as behavioral or lifestyle modifications and patient education for the self-management of NCDs.

CONCLUSIONS

This review makes a unique contribution to the field by not only providing a quantifiable impact analysis but also identifying the areas requiring imminent scholarly attention for the ethical, empathetic, and efficacious implementation of AI in NCD care. This serves as an academic cornerstone for future research in AI-assisted health care for NCD management.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

Open Science Framework; https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/GU5PX.

Exploring the Impact of ChatGPT Literacy on User Satisfaction: The Mediating Role of User Motivations

The introduction of chat generative pretrained transformer (ChatGPT), the fastest growing large language model, has changed the landscape of artificial intelligence-human interaction in everyday life. As the social influence of ChatGPT increases, competencies in it become important life skills. This study aims to explore the determinants of ChatGPT user satisfaction to provide practical implications by suggesting a significant independent variable and mediators between the independent variable and user satisfaction. To this end, this study recruited 822 college students with prior experience using ChatGPT (407 males and 415 females) and conducted an online survey. We tested the effects of ChatGPT literacy on user satisfaction and the mediating roles of different motives (i.e., information and knowledge acquisition and entertainment and leisure) in the relationship between ChatGPT literacy and user satisfaction. The results suggest that ChatGPT literacy significantly increases user satisfaction and that information and knowledge acquisition and entertainment and leisure partially mediate the relationship between the effect of ChatGPT literacy and user satisfaction. The results may have implications for large language model developers and practitioners, such as educators.