Abstract

The rapid development of artificial intelligence has raised questions about its role in human emotional life, particularly in the context of increasing loneliness. However, the role of attachment toward artificial intelligence as a mediating mechanism in the association between social connectedness and loneliness has not yet been systematically examined. This study tested whether the attachment toward artificial intelligence mediates the association between social connectedness and loneliness. A cross-sectional quantitative design was employed using the Social Connectedness Scale–Revised, the University of California, Los Angeles Loneliness Scale (Version 3), an adapted Who To Turn To  measure and the Experiences in Human–AI Relationships Scale. The study was conducted with 482 participants aged 18 to 44 residing in Vietnam. The data were analyzed using Pearson correlations, and mediation analysis was performed in JAMOVI. The results indicated a negative correlation between social connectedness and loneliness. Lower levels of social connectedness were associated with the higher levels of the avoidance attachment toward artificial intelligence, a form characterized by a tendency to maintain emotional distance and avoid emotional reliance on artificial intelligence. However, this indirect effect was very small, suggesting that the attachment toward artificial intelligence could not be considered a mediating mechanism between social connectedness and loneliness. These findings offer that, in the current context, the attachment toward artificial intelligence does not appear to function as a mediating mechanism between social connectedness and loneliness.