WELLBEING AI
RESEARCH INSTITUTE

Social relationship are a very fulfilling part of human existence, whether we are introverts or not. 

We live in a new post-pandemic world in which loneliness was already a problem. The United Kingdom has appointed a Minister for loneliness in 2018, after a report from the Jo Cox Commission of Loneliness revealed that nine million of the country’s 67 million people feel lonely some or all of the time. 

A report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) points out that more than one-third of adults aged 45 and older feel lonely, and it seems that the ageing population is particularly badly hit by this, with nearly one-fourth of adults aged 65 and older considered to be socially isolated.

In his book Together, former Surgeon General of the United States, Vivek Murthy views loneliness as one of the biggest underpinning causes of the current wellness crisis. His definition of loneliness is particularly nuanced: 

“What is loneliness, anyway? […] Many people think of loneliness as isolation, but the difference between these two terms is substantial. Loneliness is the subjective feeling that you’re lacking the social connections you need. It can feel like being stranded, abandoned, or cut off from the people with whom you belong – even if you’re surrounded by other people. What’s missing when you’re lonely is the feeling of closeness, trust, and the affection of genuine friends, loved ones, and community.”

While we all need to value, maintain and deepen our social connections at the personal level, and embed policies helping us to do so at the societal level, is there a role for technology to be used to enhance social connection?

Some startups think so, developing algorithms to build more engagement in the workplace, matchmake you with your next over the globe friend, and exploring all sorts of social AI use cases. 

Would you like to find you more about loneliness and social connection from experts, play with social AI products or build the next social AI innovation and use case, helping people feel authentically more connected?