* . *
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact
Sunday, July 27, 2025
Earth-News
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    Top 5 entertainment news: Sandeep Reddy Vanga regrets trimming Animal’s runtime by 7-8 minutes, Akshay Ku – Times of India

    Top 5 Entertainment Highlights: Sandeep Reddy Vanga Reveals Why He Trimmed Animal’s Runtime by 7-8 Minutes, Plus Akshay Ku Updates

    Cote de Pablo reveals how Michael Weatherly used his soap opera roots to put her at ease in “NCIS” love scene – yahoo.com

    Cote de Pablo Reveals How Michael Weatherly’s Soap Opera Background Made Their “NCIS” Love Scene Easier

    City of Pelham announces entertainment district plans for former Oak Mountain Amphitheatre site – WVTM

    Pelham Unveils Exciting New Entertainment District Plans for Former Oak Mountain Amphitheatre Site

    Black Box Players presents ‘The Three Musketeers’ – CBS 19 News

    Experience the Adventure: Black Box Players Bring ‘The Three Musketeers’ to Life!

    AP Entertainment SummaryBrief at 1:51 p.m. EDT – Channel 3000

    Entertainment Highlights: Key Updates You Can’t Miss

    ‘Devil Wears Prada 2’ casts Anne Hathaway’s love interest replacing Adrian Grenier’s Nate – Entertainment Weekly

    Devil Wears Prada 2′ Casts New Love Interest for Anne Hathaway, Replacing Adrian Grenier’s Nate

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology

    Eagle Unveils Revolutionary X-Ray Technology at Pack Expo

    Validea’s Top Information Technology Stocks Based On Peter Lynch – 7/25/2025 – Nasdaq

    Validea’s Top Information Technology Stocks Based On Peter Lynch – 7/25/2025 – Nasdaq

    WhoFi: New surveillance technology can track people by how they disrupt Wi-Fi signals – Tech Xplore

    WhoFi: New surveillance technology can track people by how they disrupt Wi-Fi signals – Tech Xplore

    Google Cloud Announced as a Key Technology Partner for Odoo Connect 2025 in San Francisco – GlobeNewswire

    Google Cloud Announced as a Key Technology Partner for Odoo Connect 2025 in San Francisco – GlobeNewswire

    Behind the Screens: The Impact of Technology on Real Estate – TRREB

    Behind the Screens: How Technology is Transforming the Future of Real Estate

    Sustainserv and Palau Announce Technology Partnership to Leverage Innovative AI Platform to Advance Sustainability Reporting – Business Wire

    Sustainserv and Palau Team Up to Transform Sustainability Reporting with Breakthrough AI Technology

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    Top 5 entertainment news: Sandeep Reddy Vanga regrets trimming Animal’s runtime by 7-8 minutes, Akshay Ku – Times of India

    Top 5 Entertainment Highlights: Sandeep Reddy Vanga Reveals Why He Trimmed Animal’s Runtime by 7-8 Minutes, Plus Akshay Ku Updates

    Cote de Pablo reveals how Michael Weatherly used his soap opera roots to put her at ease in “NCIS” love scene – yahoo.com

    Cote de Pablo Reveals How Michael Weatherly’s Soap Opera Background Made Their “NCIS” Love Scene Easier

    City of Pelham announces entertainment district plans for former Oak Mountain Amphitheatre site – WVTM

    Pelham Unveils Exciting New Entertainment District Plans for Former Oak Mountain Amphitheatre Site

    Black Box Players presents ‘The Three Musketeers’ – CBS 19 News

    Experience the Adventure: Black Box Players Bring ‘The Three Musketeers’ to Life!

    AP Entertainment SummaryBrief at 1:51 p.m. EDT – Channel 3000

    Entertainment Highlights: Key Updates You Can’t Miss

    ‘Devil Wears Prada 2’ casts Anne Hathaway’s love interest replacing Adrian Grenier’s Nate – Entertainment Weekly

    Devil Wears Prada 2′ Casts New Love Interest for Anne Hathaway, Replacing Adrian Grenier’s Nate

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology

    Eagle Unveils Revolutionary X-Ray Technology at Pack Expo

    Validea’s Top Information Technology Stocks Based On Peter Lynch – 7/25/2025 – Nasdaq

    Validea’s Top Information Technology Stocks Based On Peter Lynch – 7/25/2025 – Nasdaq

    WhoFi: New surveillance technology can track people by how they disrupt Wi-Fi signals – Tech Xplore

    WhoFi: New surveillance technology can track people by how they disrupt Wi-Fi signals – Tech Xplore

    Google Cloud Announced as a Key Technology Partner for Odoo Connect 2025 in San Francisco – GlobeNewswire

    Google Cloud Announced as a Key Technology Partner for Odoo Connect 2025 in San Francisco – GlobeNewswire

    Behind the Screens: The Impact of Technology on Real Estate – TRREB

    Behind the Screens: How Technology is Transforming the Future of Real Estate

    Sustainserv and Palau Announce Technology Partnership to Leverage Innovative AI Platform to Advance Sustainability Reporting – Business Wire

    Sustainserv and Palau Team Up to Transform Sustainability Reporting with Breakthrough AI Technology

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
Earth-News
No Result
View All Result
Home Science

More people are turning to mental health AI chatbots. What could go wrong?

July 16, 2024
in Science
More people are turning to mental health AI chatbots. What could go wrong?
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

In 2022, Estelle Smith, a computer science researcher, was frequently combating intrusive thoughts. Her professional therapist wasn’t the right fit, she felt, and couldn’t help her. So she turned to a mental health chatbot called Woebot. 

Woebot refused to address Smith’s direct suicidal prompts and asked her to seek professional help. However, when she texted it a real thought she often battles as an avid rock climber: climbing and jumping off a cliff, it encouraged her to do it and said it was “wonderful” she was taking care of her mental and physical health. 

“I wonder what might have happened,” Smith told National Geographic, “if I had been standing on a cliff at that exact moment when I got the response.” 

Mental health chatbots are far from a new phenomenon. Over half a century back, an MIT computer scientist built a crude computer program called ELIZA that could respond like a Rogerian psychotherapist. Since then, efforts to develop digital therapy alternatives have only accelerated and for good reason. WHO estimates there’s a global median of 13 mental health workers per 100,000 people. The Covid-19 pandemic launched a crisis, triggering tens of millions of additional depression and anxiety cases. 

In the US alone, over half of the adults suffering from a mental illness do not receive treatment. The majority of them cite cost and stigma as their top obstacles. Could virtual solutions, which are affordable and available 24/7, help overcome them? 

Chatbots replace talk therapy

The accessibility and scalability of digital platforms can significantly lower barriers to mental health care and make it available to a broader population, said Nicholas Jacobson, who researches the use of tech to enhance the assessment and treatment of anxiety and depression at Dartmouth College. 

Swept up by a wave of Generative AI, tech companies have been quick to capitalize. Scores of new apps like WHO’s “digital health worker,” “Sarah” offer automated counseling, where people can engage in cognitive behavioral therapy sessions—a psychotherapeutic treatment that’s proven to assist users in identifying and changing negative thought patterns—with an AI chatbot.

The arrival of AI, Jacobson adds, will enable adaptive interventions and allow healthcare providers to continuously monitor patients, anticipate when someone may need support, and deliver treatments to alleviate symptoms. 

It’s not anecdotal either: A systematic review of mental health chatbots found AI chatbots could dramatically cut down symptoms of depression and distress, at least in the short term. Another study used AI to analyze more than 20 million text conversations from real counseling sessions and successfully predicted patient satisfaction and clinical outcomes. Similarly, other studies have been able to detect early signs of major depressive disorder from unguarded facial expressions captured during routine phone unlocks and people’s typing patterns. 

Most recently, Northwestern University researchers devised a way to identify suicidal behaviour and thoughts without psychiatric records or neural measures. Their AI model estimated self-harm likelihood in 92 out of 100 cases based on data from simple questionnaire responses and behavioral signals like ranking a random sequence of pictures on a seven-point like-to-dislike scale from 4,019 participants. 

Two of the study’s authors, Aggelos Katsaggelos and Shamal Lalvani expect—once the model clears clinical trials—specialists to use it for support, such as scheduling patients depending on perceived urgency and eventually, roll out to the public in at-home settings. 

But as was evident in Smith’s experience, experts urge caution over treating tech solutions as the panacea since they lack the skill, training, and experience of human therapists, especially Generative AI, which can be unpredictable, make up information, and regurgitate biases. 

Where artificial intelligence falls short 

When Richard Lewis, a Bristol-based counselor and psychotherapist, tried Woebot—a popular script-based mental health chatbot that can only be accessed via a partner healthcare provider—to help a topic he was also exploring with his therapist, the bot failed to pick up on the issue’s nuances, suggested he “stick to the facts,” while removing all the emotional content from his replies, and advised reframing his negative thoughts as a positive. 

“As a therapist,” Lewis said, correcting or erasing emotions is the “last thing I would want a client to feel and the last thing I would ever suggest.”

“Our job is to form a relationship that can hold difficult emotions,” Lewis added, “and feelings for our clients to make it easier for them to explore, integrate, or find meaning in them and ultimately know themselves better.”

I had a similar experience on Earkick, a freemium Generative AI chatbot that claims to “improve your mental health in real-time” and has “tens of thousands” of active users. When I told it I was feeling overwhelmed by mounting deadlines, it was quick to suggest solutions like hobbies. 

Earkick’s co-founder and COO, Karin Stephan, said the app is not trying to compete with humans and instead, wants to serve people in a manner that makes them more likely to accept help. 

How bots and people can work together

Most therapists agree AI apps can be an ideal first step in a person’s mental health journey. The problem lies when they’re treated as the only solution. While people like Smith and Lewis had existing human support systems, the consequences can be dire when someone exclusively depends on an AI chatbot. Last year, a Belgian man committed suicide after a chatbot encouraged him to. Similarly, the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) suspended an eating disorder chatbot, Tessa, as it was dispensing harmful dieting advice. 

Ellen Fitzsimmons-Craft, a psychologist and professor who helped develop Tessa, agrees AI tools could make the idea of mental health care less scary but adds they must be made safe, held to high standards, and regulated. Like ChatGPT, she said, they shouldn’t be trained on the whole internet, where plenty of bad advice exists. Studies have discovered AI chatbots not only regurgitated racist medical tropes but also failed to work altogether when applied to, say, Black Americans. 

Until tech companies overcome these concerns, said Rob Morris, the co-founder of Koko Cares, which offers free mental health resources and peer support, AI’s best near-term use cases will be for administrative purposes like insurance and billing, ultimately allowing therapists to spend more time with clients. 

Koko faced public outrage when it added the ability to co-write messages with ChatGPT and had to backtrack. When offered an option to have AI-in-the-loop, most of its users preferred a strictly human experience and opted out. In the last six months, more than 2,000,000 people have used Koko. 

“People in distress are not problems to fix,” Lewis said, “they are complex people to be seen, heard, and cared for. It is as simple as that.”

>>> Read full article>>>
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source : National Geographic – https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/ai-chatbots-treatment-mental-health

Tags: Peoplescienceturning
Previous Post

Extreme heat is the future. Here are 10 practical ways to manage it.

Next Post

Why your next wellness trip might lead you into a cave

Energy landscapes direct the movement preferences of elephants – besjournals

Energy landscapes direct the movement preferences of elephants – besjournals

July 27, 2025
At United Nations Summer Program, Computer Science Student Examines AI Ethics – Georgetown University

At United Nations Summer Program, Computer Science Student Examines AI Ethics – Georgetown University

July 27, 2025
Return of wolves to Yellowstone has led to a surge in aspen trees unseen for 80 years – Live Science

Wolves’ Return to Yellowstone Sparks Unprecedented Aspen Tree Boom After 80 Years

July 27, 2025
‘Bluey’ Is Growing Up: BBC Plots All-Ages Expansion For The Franchise As A Full-Fledged Lifestyle Brand – Cartoon Brew

‘Bluey’ Is Growing Up: BBC Plots All-Ages Expansion For The Franchise As A Full-Fledged Lifestyle Brand – Cartoon Brew

July 27, 2025
Katie Ledecky, Summer McIntosh and a race for the ages at World Swimming Championships – NBC Sports

Katie Ledecky and Summer McIntosh Ignite an Epic Showdown at the World Swimming Championships

July 27, 2025
5 ways Trump has shaped the economy in 6 months – The Hill

5 Game-Changing Ways Trump Transformed the Economy in Just 6 Months

July 27, 2025
Flutter Entertainment Announces Pricing Of $1.272 Bln Of Additional Senior Secured Notes Due 2031 – Nasdaq

Flutter Entertainment Raises $1.27 Billion in Major Senior Secured Notes Offering Due 2031

July 27, 2025
KFF Health Tracking Poll: Public Views on Recent Tax and Budget Legislation – KFF

How the Public Really Feels About the Latest Tax and Budget Changes

July 27, 2025
Dollar falls against yen as markets weigh new trade deal, Japanese politics – Reuters

Dollar falls against yen as markets weigh new trade deal, Japanese politics – Reuters

July 27, 2025
Clinch County Schools prepare for students’ return with new policies, technology – WALB

Clinch County Schools Prepare for Students’ Return with Exciting New Policies and Cutting-Edge Technology

July 27, 2025

Categories

Archives

July 2025
MTWTFSS
 123456
78910111213
14151617181920
21222324252627
28293031 
« Jun    
Earth-News.info

The Earth News is an independent English-language daily published Website from all around the World News

Browse by Category

  • Business (20,132)
  • Ecology (741)
  • Economy (765)
  • Entertainment (21,645)
  • General (16,133)
  • Health (9,803)
  • Lifestyle (773)
  • News (22,149)
  • People (767)
  • Politics (774)
  • Science (15,980)
  • Sports (21,262)
  • Technology (15,746)
  • World (748)

Recent News

Energy landscapes direct the movement preferences of elephants – besjournals

Energy landscapes direct the movement preferences of elephants – besjournals

July 27, 2025
At United Nations Summer Program, Computer Science Student Examines AI Ethics – Georgetown University

At United Nations Summer Program, Computer Science Student Examines AI Ethics – Georgetown University

July 27, 2025
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

Go to mobile version