The madness of artificial intelligence has reached unsuspected heights. It is one thing to ask ChatGPT for a recipe for rice with vegetables and quite another to treat an anxiety problem. AI is becoming our confessor… and counselor.
Today we found out that there are people using ChatGPT to ask for advice on mental health issues. That is, instead of making an appointment with a psychologist, they are opening Chrome and typing in the search box: ChatGPT.
Young people and ChatGPT: free psychologist
From the United States, a country where health care is not at its best and specialists are really expensive, we receive cases of young people who have started to be treated via ChatGPT. Telling their problems and looking for a solution.
There is even a video on TikTok of young people telling their experience and giving their tricks to make the AI work as well as possible for specific requests and cases.
But this much more complicated and dangerous than it might seem at first glance. In theory, AI could be used to help meet the growing need for mental health options and the lack of mental health professionals to meet those needs.
In a 2021 study published in the journal SSM Population Health that included 50,103 adults, 95.6% of people reported the same barrier to care: inability to pay for it.
People with mental health problems appeared to be particularly affected by barriers to care, such as cost, shortage of expertise, and stigma.
One of the advantages of AI is that a program can translate into 95 languages in a matter of seconds. Another advantage is that while AI can’t provide true emotional empathy, it also can’t judge you.
However, mental health experts warn that AI can do more harm than good for people seeking deeper information, in need of medication options, or in a crisis.
According to mental health experts, AI therapy can be a useful tool for venting emotions of the moment (such as when you feel a lot of anger at a particular time), but until further improvements are made and processes are fine-tuned, it will not be able to outperform human experts.
If you need help, go to a professional, you are not alone.
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