Would you open your heart to a bot? Tell it all your problems? Look to a piece of code, a computer program, for high-quality mental healthcare? Some people have said yes and the results are hard to ignore. Dartmouth University test subjects who sought help from Therabot, a generative AI chatbot, showed a 51% reduction in depression symptoms, 31% for anxiety, 19% for eating disorders. Dr. Nicholas Jacobson, who led the study, says people really bonded with Therabot, called it Thera for short, and would check in with it frequently. But can a bot really provide meaningful advice and therapy if it’s not a human being? Are you now interested in Therabot or more likely than ever to stay far away?

This episode mentions ELIZA, an early ancestor of Therabot from 1966. You can take Eliza for a spin here.

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The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988 or 1-800-273-8255, 1-800-273-TALK

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International suicide hotline numbers available here: https://www.opencounseling.com/suicide-hotlines