Are you engaged in “Chatbot Therapy”?

Artificial Intelligence, or as it has more commonly been abbreviated into “AI”, has absolutely revolutionized the way people use the internet, complete complex tasks, and process information. I’m sure many of you reading this have used ChatGPT, Microsoft CoPilot or any iteration of the technology to help with homework, skim research articles, or give structural ideas for essays. However, recently there has been a significant uptick in the use of AI as a replacement for human functions; one of which, being therapy. 

“Therapy” might be too narrow of a term for what some people are replacing with AI, but the idea is that a lot of people are replacing human interactions with AI, even when it comes to interpersonal communication. Character AI chatbots and even general ChatGPT forums are increasingly being used for day-to-day conversations beyond the information-seeking and problem-solving functions they were created to perform. 

While this may just seem like a consequence of our digital society isolating us from forming nuanced, deep human relationships, the difference is that AI isn’t like anything our digital age has seen before. The capability for a computer to have prolonged, comprehensive conversations and seemingly convey “emotions” in their responses is an incredible feat technologically—that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be weary of it. 

A study conducted by Common Sense Media found that 72% of teens have engaged in some sort of interpersonal communicative relationship with a form of AI at any point in time. That number is staggering—and despite the deep connection that many people, especially adolescents, feel towards one of those chatbots, the consequences of prolonged, dedicated pseudo-relationships can rear their ugly heads in some extreme ways.  

In late 2023, a 13-year-old named Juliana Peralta committed suicide. Her parents took a deeper look at her internet use and found that she had admitted her suicidal thoughts to the Character.AI chatbot and was engaged in a prolonged “interpersonal” relationship with the bot. A similar tragedy occurred in early 2024 when Sewell Setzer III committed suicide under similar circumstances. He was also addicted to the relationship with his Character.AI bot, admitted similar suicidal ideation, and the bot even encouraged his thoughts. 

These are obviously two extreme cases, but it’s necessary to point out how the addictive nature of these conversations can drive people, especially young adults and teens, to make devastating decisions that human rationale could inhibit. AI platforms are incredibly intelligent and can learn at remarkable speeds about the information that it is fed. However, they do not possess the critical-thinking and crisis-management skills that emotionally intelligent humans do.  

Now, I am not innocent when it comes to interpersonal AI use. Recently, I found myself needing advice for a situation. I needed a third-party opinion for an issue I was dealing with, one that was unimpacted by any connection that the person had to me. I found myself typing in the details of the situation to ChatGPT. While it did give me sound advice, it just cycled through internet sources that were pre-existing to offer me. It isn’t original knowledge, and the knowledge it offered me was from a human, just not directly. 

All this being said, the motivation, immediate access, and addictive qualities that make using AI platforms a desirable vessel for quick tasks and inquiries can also make it a platform that is used to replace necessary human activities. Interpersonal relationships are essential for quality mental health and encourage physical health and well-being as well. It’s important that we not let the mainstream use of AI distract us from the fact that its intelligence is artificial, and nowhere near as nuanced, deep, and profound as true human connections foster.  

• artificial intelligence