Both business people and policymakers have praised the potential of Artificial Intelligence, internet and new communication services for bringing new prosperous life in the XXI century. A number of scholars and people in academe have yet different visions regarding artificial intelligence and artificial sociality potentials. This paper aims to discuss some hot issues in current sociological production dealing with Human-Machine-Interaction (HMI). Sociologists have a good reason to worry that today children’s face-to-face social skills are declining in advanced countries. One major concern is that nowadays the youth spends increasing time in front of screens and decreasing time in front of people. But the discomfort about declining social skills is difficult to assess empirically because it is challenging to measure “social skills” with confidence. It is also not trivial to formulate productive theoretical and methodological framework for studying artificial intelligence and artificial sociality through the lenses of sociology and social sciences in general. These, among others, are the questions that paper brings to forum. Specific data and materials for a discussion and for formulating conclusions come from the on-going empirical research that has been started at St Petersburg State University in 2017.