Yutong Zhang, Dora Zhao, Yixin Wang, Rebecca Anselmetti, Jeffrey T. Hancock, Robert Kraut, Diyi Yang · 2026 · arXiv preprint Read the source Over a year, sustained companionship use predicted lower well-being, and the route ran through fewer in-person interactions — the most direct evidence so far that AI companionship displaces people. Questions it bears on Does AI companionship displace people Does frictionless company lower our tolerance for people