Eating Disorder Organization Helpline Staff Says AI Is Being Replaced

• An eating disorder nonprofit is reportedly closing helplines and laying off staff.
• The National Eating Disorders Association plans to move to an AI chatbot.
• Employees say the layoffs are retaliation for a successful unionization earlier this year.

The largest nonprofit that helps people with eating disorders is laying off its phone helpline staff and volunteers, NPR reports. A spokesperson for the National Eating Disorders Association confirmed in a statement to insiders that the helpline will be closed and the organization will move to an AI chatbot named Tessa.

“We are adding Tessa as a new opportunity and ending the helpline program, but please keep in mind that these two services are not comparable,” the statement said. “This is a completely different program offering, born out of the need to adapt to the changing needs and expectations of the community.”

NEDA’s Helpline Associates United staff said: Twitter statement Officials said they obtained federal approval for the union on March 17 and formed the union two weeks after the election. They were told they would lose their jobs.

NPR reported that the NEDA helpline had six paid staff and up to 200 volunteers working at any one time.

An Insider called the helpline and was told by an automated voice message that calls were not being accepted. People can still text NEDA he texts 741741 and volunteers on the crisis text line.

According to the website, Tessa is a chatbot focused on mental health and eating disorder prevention. A NEDA spokesperson said it would initially start in 2021.

Tessa’s website states, “Please note that Tessa is not a substitute for treatment or the NEDA Helpline, but is always available to provide additional support if needed.” “Tessa is incapable of providing crisis support, but will provide crisis support resources if requested.”

A NEDA spokesperson said the helpline was launched in 1999 and served 69,718 individuals and families last year.

But there were gaps in service as many people called on weekends and after hours, and it often took days for callers to receive a response, the spokesperson said. .

Lauren Smaller, NEDA’s vice president of missions and education, told NPR that so many people calling the helpline out of fear could mean greater legal liability. said.

“Our volunteers are volunteers,” Smoler said. “They are not professionals. They have no crisis management training. And we cannot accept such responsibility. We really need them to go to the proper service.” increase.”

Ellen Fitzsimmons-Craft, professor of psychiatry at the University of Washington School of Medicine, told NPR that NEDA funded her team to create Tessa many years ago, and that “in its current form, It’s a useful tool for learning and using strategies to deal with problems.” Disordered eating and your body image. “

Fitzsimmonscraft told NPR that a small study by Tessa and his team found that more people used chatbots than those who had to be put on a NEDA waiting list to receive services. said they were shown to perform well.

But helpline members say the measure is retaliation and that human-run helplines are essential for those in distress.

“Some of us have personally recovered from eating disorders and are putting that valuable experience to work,” helpline staff Abby Harper wrote in a blog post. “We all got into this job because of our passion for eating disorder and mental health advocacy and our desire to make a difference.”

Margie Gussemi, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) who studies machine learning and health, told NPR that using chatbots against humans could be harmful, and her research needs help. And it shows that people want to be understood.

“I don’t know how I’m going to eat lunch tomorrow if I reveal that I have an eating disorder. I don’t think most people who reveal it want to get a generic link.” Ghasemi told NPR. Here are some tips for changing your diet.

“We are not quitting. We are not on strike. We will continue to come to work every day until June 1 to help our community,” the helpline union said in a statement shared with insiders. “Chatbots are no substitute for human empathy and we believe this decision will cause irreparable harm to the eating disorder community.”