When AI Says "I have been in similar situations": Synthetic Lived Experience in Peer-Like Caregiver Support
Caregivers often turn to online communities for informational and emotional support. In these spaces, peer supporters frequently draw on personal narratives to respond to emotionally complex caregiving situations. As LLMs are increasingly designed as peer-like sources of support, they introduce a critical tension: AI can provide immediate, private, and nonjudgmental support, but it cannot authentically possess the lived experiences that make human peer support meaningful. Yet, when prompted to sound peer-like, LLMs may generate language that implies lived experience. This creates a synthetic lived experience paradox: the same experiential language that may make AI support feel warm, relat...
| Authors | Drishti Goel, Agam Goyal, Veda Duddu et al. |
|---|---|
| Primary category | cs.HC |
| Published | 16 June 2026 |
| Last updated at source | 21 June 2026 |
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