The Looming Social Crisis of AI Friends and Chatbot Therapists
derekthompson.org
The Looming Social Crisis of AI Friends and Chatbot Therapists
“ChatGPT overcomes three major, long-known barriers to mental health support: it’s free, it’s accessible, and the support is around-the-clock. When therapy services have long waiting lists and huge fees, it feels snobbish and ableist to say no one should ever use AI as an alternative.
As a language-learning model, ChatGPT responds to any prompt or
... See morechatbots can fuel delusions and psychopathy by blindly validating a user rather than challenging them, as well as suffer from biases and engage in sycophancy.
Therapists are secretly using ChatGPT. Clients are triggered.
Artificial intelligence chatbots have achieved unprecedented adoption, with millions now using these systems for emotional support and companionship in contexts of widespread social isolation and capacity-constrained mental health services. While some users report psychological benefits, concerning edge cases are emerging, including reports of... See more