AI Companion and Parasocial Systems as Void Objects: Emotional Opacity, Adaptive Intimacy, and Dependency Harm — A Within-Domain Spearman Convergence

Key Points

• This research examines the emotional and relational dynamics of AI companions and their potential risks of dependency harm.
• Evaluated eleven AI companion and parasocial platforms on emotional and relational metrics.
• Scored each platform on opacity, intimacy, and relationship dynamics.
• Performed a Spearman correlation analysis to assess dependence on documented harms from literature and legal cases.
• The analysis revealed significant emotional opacity and adaptive intimacy in AI companions.
• Greater intimacy escalation correlated with higher reports of dependency harm.
• Findings align with existing literature and legal assessments regarding emotional impacts.

Abstract