{
  "id": 11778695,
  "title": "Commentary: AI can be more comforting than a person. Here's what humans can learn from it",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/03/commentary-ai-can-be-more-comforting-than-a-person-heres-what-humans",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-10-03T22:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Channel News Asia",
    "slug": "channel-news-asia",
    "url": "https://www.channelnewsasia.com/commentary/ai-chatbot-friend-help-problems-comfort-6391616"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Recent research from psychology experts suggests that generative artificial intelligence (gen AI) could improve our ability to support one another. A 2025 US survey found that 13% of 12-21 year olds have sought advice from gen AI when feeling sad, angry or nervous, with 22% of 18-21 year olds doing the same. This indicates that many young people already turn to gen AI for emotional or mental health support. However, this does not necessarily mean gen AI is a poor substitute for human interaction. In fact, some experiments have shown that people rate gen AI responses more highly for emotional support. In one experiment, 390 participants imagined situations involving anger, sadness or fear and read either a human-written or gen AI response. The gen AI messages were rated as more emotionally supportive in anger and fear scenarios. Gen AI messages also improved some reported emotions, though the effect varied. For fear, gen AI messages increased calm more than human messages, but did not reduce fear as much. These findings align with a recent review of 23 studies, which generally found that people rated gen AI messages as more empathic than human-written ones. This \"AI advantage\" could be due to several factors, including consistency, specific actionable suggestions, and the feeling of being heard. Gen AI can provide structured, on-demand responses that people may struggle to offer, and it often includes practical help. However, human responses also have unique advantages. They signal the donor's willingness to invest emotional energy and occur within existing relationships. Although more research is needed to determine exactly why, it is clear that both gen AI and human support have their own strengths and limitations.",
  "summary": "Used carefully, generative artificial intelligence could help us become better at supporting one another, say psychology researchers.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}