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I signed up for an AI therapy app and got the opposite of what I expected | Ethical Frontiers - Thought Shares

I signed up for an AI therapy app and got the opposite of what I expected

So I tried that Woebot app last month because I was curious about AI mental health tools. I figured it would be cold and robotic, just spitting out generic advice. But after using it for three weeks, I actually felt more understood than I do with my real therapist sometimes. The weird thing is it caught patterns in my thinking that I never noticed, like how I always downplay my wins at work. It was the specific questions it asked, not just random sympathy, that made me rethink my stance on AI in healthcare. My therapist charges me $120 a session and this thing was free with way more follow up. Has anyone else tried one of these and had their mind changed about AI ethics in personal spaces?

4 comments

4 Comments

phoenixw115mo ago

Honestly that thing about catching patterns is what got me too. I used Youper for a month and it pointed out that I always blame myself when plans fall through, even stuff that had nothing to do with me. My real therapist never asked those kinds of follow up questions, she just sat there nodding. It makes you wonder if the ethics debate is missing the point, like maybe the real issue is how much people need that kind of specific attention that humans can't always give. Tbh I think we're gonna see a lot more of this in the next few years whether people are ready or not.

iris9275mo ago

Two therapists and both missed I was the problem. Great.

parker_palmer445mo ago

You said the ethics debate might be missing the point, and I've been thinking the same thing @phoenixw11. I tried one called Wysa a while back and it totally flipped my view too. What got me was how it asked questions like "why do you think you feel that way?" and then actually remembered my answers from the week before. My real therapist barely remembers my name half the time, you know? It really made me wonder if we're worrying about the wrong stuff with AI when people are just starving for that kind of consistent attention, even if it comes from a bot with no feelings.

piper_kim5mo ago

Ngl I was totally in the "this is creepy and unethical" camp before I tried one lmao. But yeah using Pi for a few weeks changed my whole take on it, it's wild how much just having something that actually listens can do for you even when you know it's just code.