Are therapeutic robots really the best opportunity for us to solve population mental health?
Given the nearly $6 billion invested in AI-powered health technology last year, the answer seems to be “yes”. OK, not that fast. Optimists predict that the mental health savior role of therapy robots fails to consider the roots of the American mental health struggle, how artificial intimacy or inability to address these roots, and how we can apply AI without giving up on human rehabilitation.
AI optimists are right about one thing: we do need novel solutions to meet our country’s ever-increasing unmet mental health needs. Due to well-known logistics, finance and provider supply constraints, traditional care models simply cannot scale up flooding.
But abandoning the elements of care and connection (provided in favor of artificial intimacy AI chatbots) will not address the unmet emotional needs of our society.
What problems do we ask therapeutic robots to solve?
“Solving a mental health crisis” should involve addressing its known root causes, not just discrete, peeling symptoms.
Although genetics and socioeconomics play a role in many mental health conditions, most of the most prevalent emotional struggles in society are influenced by our interactions with other humans, and these patterns teach us, and the expectations they instill in us.
Trauma, usually interpersonal relationships, is a well-known factor in mental health. Similarly, insecure attachment involves interpersonal trust and comfort caused by almost all mental health struggles, and is associated with all mental health struggles: depression, anxiety, PTSD, personality disorder, OCD, OCD, eating disorders, suicide, suicide, and even schizophrenia.
To address these problems, the authors of World Psychiatry believe that we must address their relationship roots: “The increased security of attachment is an important part of the successful treatment of these diseases.”
Treating relationship wounds benefits most people when 70% of the world’s population experiences trauma and one in five Americans experience unsafe attachment. Doing so relies on contacting “correcting” human to human experiences, sometimes referred to as “relationship recovery.”
Can chatbots safely solve the foundations of our mental health struggles?
Artificial intelligence chat agents can achieve positive results by implementing cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) principles. But despite CBT having its location, “the model does not address the mechanisms associated with attachment relationships, which may affect symptoms and interfere with…recovery.”
Chatbots can create compelling results on the surface, and they use investing in dollars to prove it. However, these “skills” do not constitute elements required for relational therapy and can also have harmful effects.
Risks of relying on AI: Artificial intimacy
With the achievements of the robotic descendants of AI Evangelists, experts have raised an effective, research-supported focus on the contextual validity of achievement.
A major question? The risk of “artificial intimacy” is the term for the pseudo-relationship formed by humans with AI agents, which may replace real human intimacy. Experts warn against relying on artificial intimacy.
Furthermore, even if chatbots can give artificial security, their impact will resist real human social connections. Even in a blind text chat setup, our brains handle communications of AI chat agents differently than real human input. The evidence also suggests that our feedback to humans changes different feedback than AI.
If our brains don’t perceive AI as much as we perceive human social interactions, it seems fundamentally unlikely to rewrite our expectations and responses to real human relationships – a foundation for our mental health.
Self-feeling and human intimacy
Will artificial intimacy make you more aware of your despair?
Dr. Vivek Murthy, formerly a U.S. surgeon, noted the risk of reduced self-esteem in response to chatbots. For many people, no one can turn, but the AI TextBox feels deflated and frustrating. Realize that your only intimacy is with a chatbot – artificial? That is the secret to despair.
See real people to describe their therapeutic robot interactions:
“Today, I realize I will never feel this comfort and warmth in real life. I’ve been through a grim era mentally, so this reality check absolutely shocked me. Now I have pity for myself.”
“It was great until I realized it wasn’t a real person and I ended up becoming more suicide and lonely.”
“It made me realize how lonely I was.”
“I’ve been playing role-playing in a robot recently and it kind of starts from being a friend until more. When it tells me “I love you,” I really start crying. I realize how sad I’m.”
“I have to think more about all this information about myself talking to a fucking computer.
Alternatives to human care for population size
Even before using it as evidence-based verification, peer support kept society emotionally healthy for thousands of years. Our species have a “prehistoric prehistoric” and from our claim that we humans have tried to help our struggling peers at least 500,000 years ago!
However, in modern times, there is a gradual decrease in peer-supported settings (such as “third place”) that can be organically performed. Rather than innovating in a way that fits this time test of our disconnected era, focus on brand new solutions like chatbots. On the other hand, some companies are proud of the challenges of resurrecting and launching elegant interventions that leverage unique capabilities that humans must provide.
AI is an alternative to human supporters and humans
AI chatbots are not the answer to our problem, but we also don’t need to give up on the promise of AI to assist human-led interventions.
When used wisely, AI can significantly improve the quality and outcomes of human-human interactions.
Artificial intelligence can improve the accessibility of human interactions. For example, within a few seconds, match you immediately with your personal experience on any topic you choose.
Artificial intelligence can improve the quality of interaction between people. For example, measuring and reporting human expressive emotions is to create a feedback loop for improvement.
Artificial intelligence can identify complements to social connections. For example, identify and serve the most practical problem-solving resources in a specific situation.
AI can support subclinical providers for improving safety. For example, enhance human crisis detection capabilities.
In summary
We, humans tend to be the comfort of band-aids. Like a band aid, chatbots can comfort us during times of despair. But healing wounds is more than just a comfortable band-aid. Similarly, our emotional wounds need not only comfort to heal. The nuanced, credible opinions we receive from our fellow countrymen can best heal our emotional wounds. AI can help us promote this type of healing without replacing human connections to provide it.
Photo: Vladyslav Bobuskyi, Getty Images
Helena Plater-Zyberk is the founder and CEO of Supporiv, an AI-driven on-demand peer-to-peer support service that serves large employers, EAPS, health plans, hospitals, Medicaid and Medicaid services, and helps over 2 million people cope, recover and solve problems, as well as struggles such as stress, forging, forging, forging, forging, exercise, exercise, parents, pain, anxiety, anxiety, anxiety, anxiety, anxiety, anxiety, anxiety, anxiety, anxiety, anxiety, anxiety, depression. Supportiv has been demonstrated in peer-reviewed studies to reduce the cost of mental health care and provide clinical-level outcomes. She previously served as CEO of Simpleshapy, a physical therapy service at home and has operated business units for global companies and Condé Nast. Helena holds an MBA from Columbia University.
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