So far Artificial Intelligence (AI) has demonstrated current benefits to society and revolutionary capabilities in a near future, despite the fear that technology will turn against humanity one day. You can look at AI from the positive perspective as an opportunity to fill critical gaps in existing service providers. There is an increasing interest to integrate AI within mental healthcare, as this kind of technology is becoming increasingly capable and sophisticated. Tess is an example of how AI can be used to revolutionize mental health.
Tess is a psychological AI developed by X2AI that provides a range of personalized mental health services through a variety of existing technology-based communications (via text messages). X2AI aims to bring quality and affordable mental health support to anyone, regardless of income or location, through artificial intelligence. The advantages of speaking with a machine are that it takes away a feeling of judgment or social stigma, it’s available at any time, its memory is far better than ours and it can be used to connect points that a human would forget about, and it is always consistent and provides the same high quality work.
However, there are also many controversies in substituting people’s roles with machines. Apart from displacing a large proportion of the workforce, there’s nothing like having a conversation with a friend or family member who knows you and your preferences, or from a professional who knows what’s the best move to make in unexpected situations, or getting physical signs of affect (like hugs) that makes you feel genuinely cared about.
What do you think about the benefits Tess brings and the necessary human interaction to deal with mental health?
Written by: Miriam Wagner Valladolid