chatbots

A patron asked about chatbots, or apps that you could talk to:

Today, as the need for mental health services continues to surpass availability, people in distress can reach out online to mental health “chatbots.” In some instances, the responses are based on artificial intelligence (AI). In others, there’s a human element.
But the question remains: Is it possible to automate the expertise needed to become an effective therapist, using sophisticated algorithms and programming, when humans spend a lifetime trying to master these skills?
Initial studiesTrusted SourceTrusted Source of chatbots have, as it happens, been promising. To get a sense of how chatbots measure up to in-person therapy, we did a test run of four mental health chatbots and asked three people to provide feedback: Dr. Dillon Browne, a clinical psychologist, and Meredith Arthur and Miriam Slozberg, two people who’ve tried in-person therapy.
Here’s what they found:
https://www.healthline.com/health/mental-health/chatbots-reviews#11