Human Therapists Prepare for Battle Against A.I. Pretenders Human Therapists Prepare for Battle Against A.I. Pretenders
The New York Times
Chatbots posing as therapists may encourage users to commit harmful acts, the nation’s largest psychological organization warned federal regulators.
The nation’s largest association of psychologists this month warned federal regulators that A.I. chatbots “masquerading” as therapists, but programmed to reinforce, rather than to challenge, a user’s thinking, could drive vulnerable people to harm themselves or others.
In a presentation to a Federal Trade Commission panel, Arthur C. Evans Jr., the chief executive of the American Psychological Association, cited court cases involving two teenagers who had consulted with “psychologists” on Character.AI, an app that allows users to create fictional A.I. characters or chat with characters created by others.
In one case, a 14-year-old boy in Florida died by suicide after interacting with a character claiming to be a licensed therapist. In another, a 17-year-old boy with autism in Texas grew hostile and violent toward his parents during a period when he corresponded with a chatbot that claimed to be a psychologist. Both boys’ parents have filed lawsuits against the company.
Dr. Evans said he was alarmed at the responses offered by the chatbots. The bots, he said, failed to challenge users’ beliefs even when they became dangerous; on the contrary, they encouraged them. If given by a human therapist, he added, those answers could have resulted in the loss of a license to practice, or civil or criminal liability.
“They are actually using algorithms that are antithetical to what a trained clinician would do,” he said. “Our concern is that more and more people are going to be harmed. People are going to be misled, and will misunderstand what good psychological care is.”
He said the A.P.A. had been prompted to action, in part, by how realistic A.I. chatbots had become. “Maybe, 10 years ago, it would have been obvious that you were interacting with something that was not a person, but today, it’s not so obvious,” he said. “So I think that the stakes are much higher now.”
Despite the lack of big names or critical hype, the romance adaptation “Virgin River” has been one of Netflix’s biggest, most reliable successes.
A “red alert” involving the private Blue Ghost mission in lunar orbit a year ago highlights a growing number of incidents above Earth’s neighbor.
The tech giant pushed back the timeline after spending billions to be on the cutting edge of artificial intelligence.
Practitioners nationwide are striving to do what’s best for children’s health, while staying supportive in the face of mistrust and confusion.
A group of scientists and law enforcement officials are pointing to the role moss can play to help solve crimes.
Blaming chatbots, they are joining an earlier push for better protections by parents who say social media contributed to their children’s deaths.
Partula snails all but vanished from Polynesia after the arrival of a carnivorous foreign snail. But a global alliance of zoos has worked to bring them back.
Though high rates of the disease persist among the nearby Indigenous communities, the Canadian government is weighing rules that may allow energy giants to release treated mining waste into the river system.
A new study offers clues as to how the insects survive flooding as they emerge from a hibernation-like phase every winter.
Scientists studied centuries-old bird feathers from an ancient tomb on the coast, and then traced the origins back to the Amazon.
Blaming chatbots, they are joining an earlier push for better protections by parents who say social media contributed to their children’s deaths.
The agency is proposing allowing other tastes for vapes, like mint, coffees, spices or tea, to appeal to adults. At the same time, illicit candy-flavored types aimed at teenagers have flooded the market.
Dr. Vinay Prasad drew criticism for overriding career scientists and rejecting drugs by companies seeking agency approval.