AI responses can be more compassionate than human ones: study

Artificial intelligence (AI) may soon play a larger role in employee support, with new research showing it can outperform humans – even trained professionals – in delivering compassionate and empathetic communication.

AI-generated responses, specifically from ChatGPT, were consistently rated as more compassionate and responsive than human-generated responses, even when compared to trained crisis responders, according to a recent study published in Communications Psychology.

In one experiment, AI responses received significantly higher compassion scores (M = 4.08) compared to human responses (M = 3.50), according to the report. This trend persisted even when human responses were created by trained crisis responders, who are specifically skilled in empathic communication. 

The study also found that compassion ratings for AI were greater when it addressed negative prompts (B = 0.64, SE = 0.10, p < 0.001) than positive prompts (B = 0.36, SE = 0.10, p = 0.002).

“AI’s consistent performance in providing superior empathetic responses highlights its utility in compassionate care through complementing, or potentially enhancing, human communication and preparedness, particularly in brief, written contexts,” said authors Dariya Ovsyannikova, Victoria Oldemburgo de Mello & Michael Inzlicht in the report titled “Third-party evaluators perceive AI as more compassionate than expert humans.”

“Participants consistently rated AI-generated responses as more compassionate, understanding, validating, and caring; they knowingly preferred AI responses to human-generated responses when author identity was made explicit and even when the human comparison was comprised of trained empathy first responders.” 

There is a lot to gain for employers who show empathetic leadership to their workers, according to a previous Dayforce report.

Having ChatGPT as a tool when it comes to helping workers who are going through some tough times can be really beneficial to employers, especially when human resources professionals have a lot on their plate, according to the Communications Psychology report.

“Ultimately, AI’s ability to consistently deliver compassionate communication positions it as a strategic asset in support scenarios where human resources are stretched thin,” said Ovsyannikova, de Mello and Inzlicht.

“Practical empathy” is a crucial element of talent retention in times of change, according to a previous O.C. Tanner report.

How do you show empathy to employees?

According to Indeed, empathy in the workplace is important because it helps workers connect with co-workers, which is essential in the work of HR.

Here’s employers and HR professionals can be empathetic in the workplace, based on Indeed’s tips:

1. Approach challenges from a different perspective.
2. Ask questions to understand.
3. Validate how the other person is feeling.
4. Determine the preferred resolution.
5. Develop your listening skills.
6. Offer to help.
7. Challenge your biases.

“Empathy at work forms the foundation of overall employee well-being, positive work relationships, a healthy organizational culture and the capacity to deliver great results with high performance and productivity,” according to Hacking HR. “Without empathy, sustaining these core four outcomes in the long run would be impossible.”