Abstract
Introduction. Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, being widely implemented in key areas of public life, bring not only new opportunities but also numerous social risks. The sustainability of organizations, industries, and society depends on how these risks are considered in management strategies. The paper analyzes the impact of AI in terms of social escapism, a trend toward minimizing social contact and self-isolation from society.
Materials and Methods. A PRISMA-based systematic literature review included 40 primary sources selected from 1,319 publications in Russian and English identified in the ScienceDirect, GoogleScholar, OpenAlex, CyberLeninka, and Elibrary.ru databases (by August 9, 2025).
Results. The study identifies key cases in which AI causes the spread of social escapism: (a) when real-life communication is substituted by interactions with AI agents, fostering emotional attachment and reducing the need for interpersonal contact; (b) when the existing digital escapism is reinforced by personalization algorithms and hyper-realistic virtual spaces based on AI, which leads to digital «reclusion» and social isolation; and (c) when AI threatens traditional values of freedom and justice, as well as the value of the individual, beyond the social environment of AI.
Discussion. The three key cases are demonstrated by the three models of emerging social escapism: emotional-communicative, perceptual-ontological, and value-existential. These models explain various behavioral strategies of social self-exclusion which result from subjective acceptance or rejection of relevant technologies. The study outlines the ways for further conceptualization of AI-caused social escapism, including longitudinal, cross-cultural, and group studies, and the need to consider social risks and escapist tendencies, when implementing AI technologies.
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