More and more people are turning to AI chatbots like character.ai, nomi and Replika for friendship and mental health support. Teens in particular are leaning towards this technology.
According to a new report from the media and high-tech nonprofit Common Sense Media, 72% of teenagers aged 13 to 17 use AI companions at least once. Survey respondents said they used AI for conversation and social practices (18%), emotional or mental health support (12%), and friends or best friends (9%).
AI can be a powerful tool, but it is not a replacement for the interactions between therapists, psychologists, researchers, and authentic human interactions, both personal and professional, like Vaile Light.
“It's never going to replace human connections,” she said. “That's not what I'm good at.” That's why.
The chatbot was “built to stay on the platform for as long as possible.”
AI chatbots are not built to provide fulfilling long-term interactions, experts say.
“AI can't introduce their network,” said Omri Gillath, a psychology professor at the University of Kansas, who returned to CNBC in May. You can't introduce new friends or important others, and you can't embrace them when you need them.
Instead, the chatbots were “built to stay on the platform as long as possible, because that's how they make money,” Wright said of the companies that create them. They do “at the backend by coding these chatbots addictively.”
Ultimately, the relationship with the chatbot feels “fake” and “empty” compared to the relationship with the human, Giras said.
These bots basically tell people exactly what they want to ask.
According to the Harvard Business Review Report, therapy and dating are the biggest reason why people rely on generative AI and chatbots. However, experts warn that AI can't and should not be your therapist.
“These bots are basically telling people exactly what they want to ask,” Wright said. “So if you're struggling at that particular moment and you're entering potential harmful or unhealthy behaviors or thoughts, these types of chatbots are built to reinforce those harmful thoughts and behaviors.”
Another major weakness of this technology is that AI has knowledge but does not understand it.
“Unfortunately, AI chatbots know that some legal drug use makes people feel better,” Wright said. “It gives you something high and if someone says I'm low and depressed, that might be the advice that it gives. But I don't understand that you don't give that advice to people recovering from illegal drug use.”
The difference between knowing and understanding is, “when you're talking about using these uses, it's actually really important.”
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