Overview

• An Old Dominion University professor reports college students are skipping therapy appointments in favor of real-time advice from ChatGPT due to convenience, cost, and perceived privacy.
• Researchers have found AI-written responses are often rated as more compassionate than those from human clinicians, a trend highlighted in new coverage of India’s mental health landscape.
• Clinicians caution that chatbots lack the human connection central to effective psychotherapy and should not be relied on for trauma or severe conditions.
• Experts note potential benefits such as 24/7 access and early distress detection that could steer users to human clinicians for evaluation and care.
• A national poll by Iris Telehealth finds 73% of respondents want human providers to make final decisions in AI-flagged emergencies, with concerns about false positives and overreliance on technology, and demographic gaps in comfort levels.