Will Generative AI Create a New Social Divide? Investigating the Impacts of Generative AI Use on Social Capital in China

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) plays an increasingly important role in information dissemination, yet its effects on social constructs like social capital remain underexplored. This study employs a survey of 1,053 online respondents in China to dissect the association between generative AI use and social capital, considering both usage patterns and intensity. Findings reveal that generative AI users have a more significant correlation in having social capital than non-users. Task-oriented generative AI use is positively associated with offline bonding social capital but negatively with online bonding social capital. In contrast, the use of social orientation was positively associated with having social capital on both dimensions. In addition, the intensity and frequency of using generative AI are positively related to social capital, with more significant effects observed in online settings. These results contribute to understanding technology's impact on social relationships and the varying effects of different AI engagement patterns on social capital.