From digital interaction to social connection: AI virtual humans as interactive learning partners for older adults

As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes increasingly embedded in educational and social interaction systems, its potential to alleviate digital exclusion and digital loneliness among older adults has attracted growing attention. Across two independent experiments, this study examined the association between AI-assisted interaction and digital loneliness among older adults, as well as the underlying psychological mechanisms. In Experiment 1, 90 older adults participated in a four-week randomized longitudinal experiment. A 2 (group) × 5 (time) mixed-design repeated-measures analysis of variance was conducted to compare changes in digital loneliness between an AI-assisted interaction group and a conventional interaction control group. The results showed that participants in the AI-assisted interaction group exhibited a more pronounced reduction in digital loneliness over the intervention period. Experiment 2 involved an independent sample of 210 participants and used PROCESS analyses to examine further the roles of perceived social support, evaluative emotional fulfillment, and technology acceptance. After controlling for baseline digital loneliness, perceived social support constituted a significant indirect pathway linking AI-assisted interaction to post-intervention digital loneliness, whereas the indirect effect through evaluative emotional fulfillment did not reach statistical significance. Technology acceptance further moderated the association between AI-assisted interaction and perceived social support. Taken together, these findings suggest that the association between AI-assisted interaction and reduced digital loneliness among older adults is primarily related to the perceived social support pathway. In contrast, evidence supporting the mediating role of evaluative emotional fulfillment remains insufficient. This study provides empirical evidence for understanding older adults’ experiences of social connectedness in inclusive AI-enabled environments. It underscores the importance of enhancing both the acceptability of AI-mediated interaction and its capacity to provide social support within educational and digital learning ecosystems.