Has your AI therapist got your back? | Audio Long Read

<p>In May this year, an American woman sought the help of a chatbot on an eating disorders website. The bot, named Tessa and running on an evolving, generative AI, advised her to start counting calories. Perhaps she should get some calipers, it suggested, to measure her body fat. When it emerged that Tessa had given similarly dangerous advice to others, the bot was taken down.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>As countries around the world face a mental health crisis, exacerbated by the pandemic and a lack of human therapists, a new tech goldrush has begun. Can the latest self-help chatbots help meet a desperate need, delivering “microtherapy” sessions on demand? Do they have a place in disaster zones - or do people in crisis deserve human attention and support? In this week’s audio long read, freelance reporter and author of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/jul/01/sex-robots-vegan-meat-by-jenny-kleeman-review-the-future-of-food-birth-and-death" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Sex Robots and Vegan Meat</em></a>&nbsp;Jenny Kleeman talks to the people behind the latest incarnations of AI therapy in the UK and the US, as well as the technology’s critics.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Written by Jenny Kleeman and read by Zoe Grunewald.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>This article originally appeared in the 13-19 October edition of the New Statesman. You can read the text version&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newstatesman.com/science-tech/big-tech/2023/10/artificial-intelligence-mental-health-therapists" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a>.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>If you enjoyed this episode, you might also enjoy&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newstatesman.com/podcasts/audio-long-reads/2022/06/the-psychiatrists-who-dont-believe-in-mental-illness-audio-long-reads" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The psychiatrists who don’t believe in mental illness</a>&nbsp;by Sophie McBain</p><br /><p>--</p><br /><p>Want more Audio Long Reads? Follow our standalone feed here: https://podfollow.com/audio-long-reads-new-statesman</p><br /><p><strong>LISTEN AD-FREE:</strong></p><p>📱<a href="https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2022/06/newapp" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Download the New Statesman app</a></p><br /><p><strong>MORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:</strong></p><p>❓ <a href="https://www.newstatesman.com/podcasts/2022/10/you-ask-us" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ask a question</a> – we answer them every Friday</p><p>⏰ <a href="https://morningcall.substack.com/subscribe" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Get our daily politics newsletter</a> every morning</p><p>✍️ <a href="http://saturdayread.substack.com/subscribe" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Enjoy the best of our writing</a> via email every Saturday</p><hr /><p style="color: grey; font-size: 0.75em;"> Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: grey;" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>