News Some ChatGPT users are addicted and will suffer withdrawal symptoms if cut off, say researchers

I'm not an expert on addiction, but I thought there needed to be a chemical stimulant in the brain for something to be addictive.
Does talking to chatGPT release dopamine, or endorphins, or something?
 
There are certainly chemical dependencies/addictions, as well as behavioral as suggested by countless studies.

I don't see LLM use any differently to social media use. Same basic mechanisms in the user's noggin.
 
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I can see how chatting with an AI can be addictive given that I personally spent too much time in MUCK/MUD/RP chats in the late 90's and early 00's. Of course those environments were filled with other humans at the time. I wouldn't anticipate any changes to the AI landscape based on this addiction study though. Maybe they'll put a message in every hour advising you to take a break or something -- that's the most that will change.
 
There's a fascinating research article on seasame.com called crossing uncanny valley. It discusses timing and tone among other aspects of improving AI voice responses. They even have a demo to showcase the research.
 
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Having had experiences like this myself, I can totally understand it.
'AI companionship' is going to be a huge industry. The tech just keeps getting better.
 
I'm clearly not getting the context that they're referring to. I only do chatgpt.com, and 'we' only type programming talk at each other, so not really anything sexy to get addicted to...