Using AI for love letters seen as lazy, UK study finds

Jacqueline McKenzie said she would "never in a million years" use AI to compose a Valentine's Day message

People should "think wisely" about using artificial intelligence (AI) to compose Valentine's Day messages, psychologists have said.

A University of Kent study asked 4,000 participants how they would perceive those who use AI tools to complete different tasks.

The results revealed participants judged people "more negatively" when they used AI to write love letters, apologies and wedding vows, researchers said.

Using AI to compose personal messages was seen as "less caring, less authentic, less trustworthy and lazier", even when the writing itself was high-quality and users were honest about their AI use, it found.

Reza Jafary said he did not feel AI was "personal enough"

Tunbridge Wells resident Jacqueline McKenzie said while she used AI for some tasks, she would not use it for something personal, adding: "Never in a million years."

Liam Goodhew, from Bexley, Greater London, said he would not write a love letter to his partner, Paige, using AI as it was not from the heart.

"She's worth more than that," he told BBC Radio Kent.

And Tunbridge Wells local Reza Jafary added: "A Valentine's Day message should come from the heart, not a computer."

The study is part of the university's Trust in Moral Machines project, with support from the University of Exeter.

Researcher Dr Scott Claessens said: "People don't just judge what you produce, they judge how you produce it."

Dr Jim Everett, from the University of Kent, added: "If you use AI for these kind of social tasks that bind us together, you risk being judged not only because you didn't put effort in, but because it makes people think you care less about the task and what it represents."

He added that AI was "no substitute for investing effort into our interpersonal relationships".

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