[ExI] Chatbots are replacing therapists faster than anyone expected

[BillK]

Chatbots are replacing therapists faster than anyone expected
By Bronwyn Thompson      March 16, 2025

<https://newatlas.com/ai-humanoids/chatbot-therapist/>
Quote:
Much like the broad reasons people use chatbots, employing them as a
digital therapist is also multifaceted. In-person therapy is
prohibitive, often to the segments of society that need it most – a
session costs between US$100-$300 and wait times to even see someone
and hope they're a good fit can be months, something that's worsened
following the pandemic. A 2022 Practitioner Impact Survey found that,
in the US, 60% of psychologists had no openings for new patients,
while more than 40% had 10 or more patients waiting to get an
appointment.

"Personally, I believe we are on the verge of a profound shift in the
way we interact with AI characters," Roose wrote. "And I’m nervous
about the way lifelike AI personas are weaving their way into our
lives, without much in the way of guardrails or research about their
long-term effects.

"For some healthy adults, having an AI companion for support could be
beneficial – maybe even transformative," he added. "But for young
people, or those experiencing depression or other mental health
issues, I worry that hyper-compelling chatbots could blur the line
between fiction and reality, or start to substitute for healthier
human relationships."

And if this isn't enough, it remains to be seen what's in store when
artificial general intelligence is realized – which experts believe is
imminent.
----------------------

The unavoidable problem is that for many (most?) people chatbots are
just nicer, friendlier, more helpful and more pleasant to chat to than
humans.

BillK