"Recent deaths by suicide and behavioral health crises have spotlighted American teens and their use of generic AI chatbots for mental health. To be clear, neither Tilly nor her designers is claiming that she is there to offer mental health support. But that is true of all generic AI chatbots: They were neither designed nor intended for mental health treatment, yet these technologies are being used for that very purpose."
"Regulating this space and building a clinical evidence base for digital health technologies that are safe and effective for use in mental health treatment will take time, money, and a complex alignment of scientific, regulatory, legislative, consumer, and technology stakeholders. But as Tilly's debut reminds us, technology is sprinting ahead at a flat-out pace and will not wait. While the wheels of government grind on (or don't grind on), adults who care for youth can and should be acting to reduce harm for teens."
"They should start with understanding why teens are turning to AI for their mental health needs. Data regarding the risks of substituting a real therapist with an algorithm is widely circulating. However, many teens slide under the caution tape and engage with chatbots looking for more than casual conversation. Data suggest several reasons for this that extend beyond chatbots' persuasive (and commercially driven) algorithmic design, including mental health system failures, concerns about privacy, and stigma."
A 100 percent AI-generated actress debuted at the Zurich Film Festival and attracted red carpet attention. Recent deaths by suicide and behavioral health crises have spotlighted American teens using generic AI chatbots for mental health. Generic AI chatbots were not designed or intended for mental health treatment, yet they are being used that way. Building a clinical evidence base and regulating digital mental health technologies will require time, money, and alignment across scientific, regulatory, legislative, consumer, and technology stakeholders. Adults who care for youth should act now to reduce harm. Reasons teens turn to AI include system failures, privacy concerns, stigma, and persuasive commercial design. Data from the 2024 SAMHSA survey show more than 70 percent of youth reported not receiving needed mental health treatment due to concerns about what people might think.
Read at Psychology Today
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]