In today’s column, I am continuing my ongoing series about the impact of generative AI in the health and medical realm. The focus this time is once again on the mental health domain and entails a thought-provoking examination of how the growing widespread use of generative AI is going to impact mental health on a population-wide basis..
Let’s be complete and make sure to cover all our bases about generative AI usage in this space.There are some people for example that actively and persistently use generative AI but they rarely if ever use generative AI for mental health guidance. Notice that such a segment would still be placed into the category labeled as number 3 , and not be placed into the category labeled as number 1 .
First, please be aware that modern-day generative AI gained widespread adoption via the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022. It was an overnight success. The train keeps barreling ahead and usage continues to grow. There is no need for someone to explicitly declare that they want to use generative AI as a mental health advisor. It just happens and there aren’t any particular check-in requirements or other barriers to somehow deter it from occurring could influence mental health through prevention and treatment.”
My primary emphasis has been on generative AI for mental health, which is narrower in scope. The good news is that whether a study is broadly on AI for mental health or specifically on generative AI for mental health, they all have synergy and can glean vital insights from each other. There is also a timing factor to be considered. A prompt that worked today might not work the same way tomorrow. Most of the generative AI apps are continually being updated. The updates might alter internal mechanisms that could change how the generative AI reacts to your prompting.My initial question will be to ask ChatGPT what might occur if generative AI is used on a widespread basis for mental health purposes.