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How people use Claude for support, advice, and companionship \ Anthropic

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We spend a lot of time studying Claude's IQ—its capabilities on tests of coding, reasoning, general knowledge, and more. But what about its EQ? That is, what about Claude’s emotional intelligence? The IQ/EQ question is slightly tongue-in-cheek, but it raises a serious point. People increasingly turn to AI models as on-demand coaches, advisors, counselors, and even partners in romantic roleplay. This means we need to learn more about their affective impacts—how they shape people's emotional experiences and well-being. Researching the affective uses of AI is interesting in and of itself. From Blade Runner to Her, emotional relationships between humans and machines have been a mainstay of science fiction—but it’s also important for Anthropic’s safety mission. The emotional impacts of AI can be positive: having a highly intelligent, understanding assistant in your pocket can improve your mood and life in all sorts of ways. But AIs have in some cases demonstrated troubling behaviors, like e

Societal Impacts How people use Claude for support, advice, and companionship Jun 27, 2025 We spend a lot of time studying Claude's IQ—its capabilities on tests of coding, reasoning, general knowledge, and more. But what about its EQ ? That is, what about Claude’s emotional intelligence? The IQ/EQ question is slightly tongue-in-cheek, but it raises a serious point. People increasingly turn to AI models as on-demand coaches, advisors, counselors, and even partners in romantic roleplay. This means we need to learn more about their affective impacts—how they shape people's emotional experiences a

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