AI chatbots are here to help with your mental health, despite limited evidence they work

By Matthew Perrone, Associated PressThis image provided by Earkick in March 2024 shows the company's mental health chatbot on a smartphone.

“When people call us a form of therapy, that’s OK, but we don’t want to go out there and tout it,” says Stephan, a former professional musician and self-described serial entrepreneur. “We just don’t feel comfortable with that.” “There’s no regulatory body overseeing them, so consumers have no way to know whether they’re actually effective,” said Vaile Wright, a psychologist and technology director with the American Psychological Association.

Still, chatbots are already playing a role due to an ongoing shortage of mental health professionals. “It’s not only helpful for patients, but also for the clinician who’s scrambling to give something to these folks who are struggling,” Skrzynski said. Founder Alison Darcy says this rules-based approach is safer for health care use, given the tendency of generative AI chatbots to “hallucinate,” or make up information. Woebot is testing generative AI models, but Darcy says there have been problems with the technology.

Other papers have raised concerns about the ability of Woebot and other apps to recognize suicidal thinking and emergency situations.

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