The issue surrounding Chat GPT has become especially prevalent in the news lately, specifically how people have been using it for therapy. Instead of spending time with a real person, people will type in the questions they have, such as treatment suggestions and how to solve certain scenarios into the bot and have answers to their problems generated within seconds. How reliable is it though? Even if it does give wrong advice that people follow, the same could also be said when people get bad advice from a human therapist.
Most people online said they used Chat GPT instead of a human therapist due to the instant results it can give. In an article published in Nature, Paolo Raile reported that “ChatGPT can engage in positive conversations, actively listen and provide validation and coping strategies.” These seem to all be good traits to have for doing therapy, but are normally ones you would find in people. Does this mean we should use Chat GPT for therapy? One should be curious, yet remain cautious of the advice it could give, which could prove inaccurate. It’s always important to fact check your information you read in any article to make sure it’s not biased and incorrect.
Are Christopher Newport University students aware of the potential problematic uses of Chat GPT? We asked several people their thoughts on this, and received unwavering opinions on the matter.
“I didn’t think we had to clarify this,” sophomore Bre Dorrian said. “You would think one would be a little skeptical of the solidity of said advice. Human interaction may just be what these people need” she added.
Senior Maggie Gammons had a similar thought. “Using Chat Gpt as therapy is unnecessary, as you’re trusting technology with your mental health and that is severely dangerous,” she said.
COVID 19 caused the world to go into a shutdown, where we had no human interaction for months besides who we were living with. Could this be why people are turning to robots instead of in person meetings? We got so used to depending on technology for things that had previously been conducted in person, such as school, jobs and social interactions. COVID 19 shifted our society in many ways, and this could very well be one of them.
Vice reported that Chat GPT has multiple concerns for people using it for therapy, such as the accuracy, reliability and jurisdictional impact of using it. Be weary of using Chat GPT for your life problems, and maybe consider talking to a human professional with a degree instead of a robot. One thing’s for sure –Chat GpT should not be replacing your therapist for advice.
