Chatbots Marketed for Mental Health Despite Lack of Evidence and Risks
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AI chatbots like Earkick are being marketed as mental health tools, but there's little evidence they improve mental health. Companies avoid calling them "therapy" to avoid regulation.
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Chatbots provide round-the-clock support and reduce stigma, but they lack human interaction and there are concerns they could displace therapy.
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Few chatbots have undergone rigorous clinical trials showing mental health benefits. Woebot submitted its postpartum depression app to the FDA but paused the approval process.
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Researchers warn chatbots sometimes "hallucinate" information and fail to recognize emergency situations due to limitations of AI.
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Experts say FDA regulation with a sliding scale based on risks may be needed as chatbots advance, but for now medical systems are focused on incorporating mental health into general care.