Can chatbots replace human therapists? Some startups – and patients – say yes. But this is not completely settled science.
One test found that 80% of people that used ChatGPT OpenAI for mental health advice found it a good alternative to regular therapy, while a separate report found that chatbots may be effective in alleviating some of the symptoms associated with depression and anxiety. On the other hand, is established that the relationship between therapist and client—in other words, the human connection—is one of the best indicators of success in mental health treatment.
Three entrepreneurs – Dustin Klebe, Lukas Wolf and Chris Aeberli – are at a chatbot therapy camp. their launch, Soniaoffers an “AI therapist” with whom users can chat or text through the iOS app on a number of topics.
“In some ways, building an AI therapist is like developing a drug in the sense that we’re building a new technology rather than repackaging an existing one,” Klebe, Sonia’s CEO, told TechCrunch in an interview.
The three met in 2018 while studying computer science at ETH Zürich and moved to the United States together to pursue postgraduate studies at MIT. Shortly after graduating, they teamed as much as found a startup that reflected their shared passion for scalable technologies.
Sonia became this startup.
Sonia uses a series of generative artificial intelligence models to research and reply to user statements during in-app “therapy sessions.” The app, which uses cognitive-behavioral therapy techniques and charges users $20 a month or $200 a 12 months, assigns “homework” that goals to attract conclusions from conversations and visualizations designed to assist discover the most significant stressors.
Klebe says Sonia, which has not received FDA approval, can deal with a number of issues, from depression, stress and anxiety to relationship problems and poor sleep. For more serious scenarios, akin to people contemplating violence or suicide, Sonia has “additional algorithms and models” that detect “emergencies” and direct users to national hotlines, Klebe says.
Somewhat disturbingly, none of Sonia’s founders had a psychology degree. Klebe, nevertheless, says the startup consults with psychologists, recently hired a cognitive psychology graduate, and is actively recruiting a full-time clinical psychologist.
“It’s important to emphasize that we do not consider human therapists or any companies providing physical or virtual human mental health care to be our competition,” Klebe said. “For every response Sonia generates, there are about seven additional calls to the language model in the background to analyze the situation from several different therapeutic perspectives in order to customize, optimize, and personalize Sonia’s chosen therapeutic approach.”
What about privacy? Can users be assured that their data is not stored in a file susceptible cloud or used to coach Sonia’s models without their knowledge?
Klebe says Sonia tries to only store the “absolute minimum” of non-public information needed to conduct therapy: a user’s age and name. However, he didn’t mention where, how and for how long Sonia stores the call data.
Sonia, which has roughly 8,000 users and $3.35 million in backing from investors including Y Combinator, Moonfire, Rebel Fund and SBXi, is in talks with anonymous mental health organizations to supply Sonia as a resource through their portals web sites. Reviews of Sonia on the App Store have been quite positive so far, with several users noting that they find it easier to speak about their problems with the chatbot than with a human therapist.
But is that a good thing?
Today’s chatbot technology is limited in the quality of recommendation provided and may not pick up on more subtle signs that there is a problem, akin to an anorexic asking tips on how to shed pounds. (Sonia would not even know how much this person weighs.)
Chatbot responses are also coloured by bias – often Western bias reflected in their training data. As a result, they are more prone to overlook cultural and linguistic differences in how a person expresses mental illness, especially if English is their second language. (Sonia only supports English.)
In the worst case scenario, chatbots break. Last 12 monthsThe National Eating Disorders Association faced criticism for replacing humans with a Tessa chatbot that gave people with eating disorders advice on weight reduction.
Klebe stressed that Sonia is not trying to exchange human therapists.
“We’re building a solution for the millions of people who struggle with their mental health but can’t (or won’t) access a human therapist,” Klebe said. “Our goal is to bridge the huge gap between demand and supply.”
There is definitely a gap – each in specialist-to-patient ratios and in treatment costs in comparison with what most patients can afford. More than half of the United States lacks adequate geographic access to mental health care According to to the latest government report. And recent questionnaire found that 42% of U.S. adults with mental disorders were unable to receive care because they might not afford it.
The article in the journal Scientific American talks about therapy apps tailored to the needs of “well-worried” people, or individuals who can afford therapy and app subscriptions, moderately than isolated individuals who could also be most at risk but don’t know tips on how to seek help. Sonia, which costs $20 a month, is not particularly low-cost, but Klebe says it’s cheaper than a typical therapy visit.
“It’s a lot easier to start using Sonia’s services than going to a therapist, which involves finding a therapist, waiting on a waiting list for four months, going there at a set time and paying $200,” he said. “Sonia has already seen more patients than a human therapist has seen in her entire career.”
I just hope Sonia’s founders remain transparent about the problems the app may or may not solve because it develops.