It’s my favorite AI story as of late, probably because it captures so well the chaos that can unfold when people actually use AI the way tech companies have all but told them to.
As the writer of the story, Laurie Clarke, points out, it’s not a total pipe dream that AI could be therapeutically useful. Early this year, I wrote about the first clinical trial of an AI bot built specifically for therapy. The results were promising! But the secretive use by therapists of AI models that are not vetted for mental health is something very different. I had a conversation with Clarke to hear more about what she found.
I have to say, I was really fascinated that people called out their therapists after finding out they were covertly using AI. How did you interpret the reactions of these therapists? Were they trying to hide it?
In all the cases mentioned in the piece, the therapist hadn’t provided prior disclosure of how they were using AI to their patients. So whether or not they were explicitly trying to conceal it, that’s how it ended up looking when it was discovered. I think for this reason, one of my main takeaways from writing the piece was that therapists should absolutely disclose when they’re going to use AI and how (if they plan to use it). If they don’t, it raises all these really uncomfortable questions for patients when it’s uncovered and risks irrevocably damaging the trust that’s been built.