At American Council for Science and Health, Henry I. Miller, MD, ponders the future of AI models as psychiatrists. He seems cautiously supportive but he also tells us:

The potential benefits are compelling, but because machine learning that is the basis of AI requires a continuous flow of information on patients, AI’s integration into psychiatry may cause concerns about privacy, safety, and bias. There are already epic examples of failures. For example, there was a report of a Belgian man who, after weeks of verbal dialogues with his chatbot “confidante,” committed suicide after it encouraged him to sacrifice himself in the interest of climate change. 

“Will Artificial Intelligence Replace Human Psychiatrists?,” February 18, 2025

Well, yes. Chatbots are prone to hallucination and may create an air of certainty about the answer that is entirely fictional. As Gary Smith has pointed out here, the need to believe in the bots’ abilities often stands in the way of realistic assessment.

Miller remains confident:

AI is also proving useful in other ways. Stanford University researchers, in collaboration with a telehealth company, developed an AI system called Crisis-Message Detector 1 that rapidly identifies messages from patients that indicate thoughts of suicide, self-harm, or violence, drastically reducing wait times for those in crisis from hours to minutes.

While AI tools like Crisis-Message Detector 1 are designed to support human decision-making, there is also the possibility of autonomous AI therapists eventually emerging. Using AI that provides cognitive behavioral therapy and empathetic support, companies such as the health chatbot Woebot and Koko, a peer-support platform that provides crowdsourced cognitive therapy, aim to replicate the experience of a live human therapist.

Initially text-based, these AI therapists could eventually incorporate audio and video to analyze clients’ facial expressions and body language. A recent survey revealed that 55% of respondents would prefer AI-based psychotherapy, appreciating the convenience and the ability to discuss sensitive topics more freely.

“Replace Human Psychiatrists?”

One group that is sure to love these proposals is health insurance providers. Think of the crashed costs. The next big mental health fight may be for the right to get in front of an actual human therapist.

Cross-posted at Mind Matters News.