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<blockquote style="position: relative; padding-left: 55px;"><section><a href="https://mastodon.social/users/caseynewton/statuses/115052558383855540">Casey Newton (caseynewton@mastodon.social)'s status on Tuesday, 19-Aug-2025 10:27:35 JST</a><a href="https://mastodon.social/@caseynewton" title="caseynewton@mastodon.social"><img src="https://gnusocial.jp/avatar/61006-48-20240126011805.webp" width="48" height="48" alt="Casey Newton" style="position: absolute; left: 0; top: 0;">Casey Newton</a></section><article><p>Chatbots can provide something *like* therapy, but it's not the genuine article — so I think it's good more states are cracking down on how companies present them <a href="https://www.platformer.news/ai-therapy-paxton-meta-character/" rel="nofollow">https://www.platformer.news/ai-therapy-paxton-meta-character/</a></p></article><footer><a rel="bookmark" href="https://gnusocial.jp/conversation/5513366#notice-10824483">In conversation</a><time datetime="2025-08-19T10:27:35+09:00" title="Tuesday, 19-Aug-2025 10:27:35 JST">about 10 months ago</time> <span>from <span><a href="https://mastodon.social/@caseynewton/115052558383855540" rel="external" title="Sent from mastodon.social via ActivityPub">mastodon.social</a></span></span><a href="https://mastodon.social/@caseynewton/115052558383855540">permalink</a><h4>Attachments</h4><ol><li><label><a rel="external" href="https://gnusocial.jp/attachment/5094119">A Stanford University study, covered in Ars Technica last month, found that therapist-branded chatbots from Character.AI and other providers can encourage delusional thinking and express stigma toward people with certain mental health conditions. But one of its co-authors, Nick Haber, argued that AI likely does have positive applications to therapy, including in training human therapists and in helping clients with journaling and coaching.That strikes me as true — and still not quite enough. Part of the problem here surely relates to language: the words "therapy" and "therapist" connote a level of trust and care that no automated system can provide. Tools like ChatGPT can clearly provide a convincing therapy-like experience — even one that has therapeutic benefits — but should never be mistaken for the genuine article.</a></label><br><a href="https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/115/052/558/126/233/424/original/8f089b58e4989cf0.png" rel="external">https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/115/052/558/126/233/424/original/8f089b58e4989cf0.png</a></li><li><article><header><div>Domain not in remote thumbnail source whitelist: www.platformer.news</div><h5><a href="https://www.platformer.news/ai-therapy-paxton-meta-character/">The states are coming for AI therapy bots</a></h5><div> from <span>@CaseyNewton</span></div></header><div>It's clear that therapy chatbots can benefit people — but states may have good reason to intervene anyway</div><footer></footer></article></li></ol></footer></blockquote>

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Casey Newton (caseynewton@mastodon.social)'s status on Tuesday, 19-Aug-2025 10:27:35 JST Casey Newton
Chatbots can provide something *like* therapy, but it's not the genuine article — so I think it's good more states are cracking down on how companies present them https://www.platformer.news/ai-therapy-paxton-meta-character/
In conversationabout 10 months ago from mastodon.socialpermalink
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1. A Stanford University study, covered in Ars Technica last month, found that therapist-branded chatbots from Character.AI and other providers can encourage delusional thinking and express stigma toward people with certain mental health conditions. But one of its co-authors, Nick Haber, argued that AI likely does have positive applications to therapy, including in training human therapists and in helping clients with journaling and coaching. That strikes me as true — and still not quite enough. Part of the problem here surely relates to language: the words "therapy" and "therapist" connote a level of trust and care that no automated system can provide. Tools like ChatGPT can clearly provide a convincing therapy-like experience — even one that has therapeutic benefits — but should never be mistaken for the genuine article.
  https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/115/052/558/126/233/424/original/8f089b58e4989cf0.png
2. Domain not in remote thumbnail source whitelist: www.platformer.news
  The states are coming for AI therapy bots
  from @CaseyNewton
  It's clear that therapy chatbots can benefit people — but states may have good reason to intervene anyway

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