Can chatbots be therapists? Only if you want them to be

Like every other sector that AI is threatening to disrupt, critics are concerned that bots will eventually replace human workers rather than complement them. — Image by pvproductions on Freepik

PARIS: A manager at artificial intelligence firm OpenAI caused consternation recently by writing that she just had "a quite emotional, personal conversation" with her firm's viral chatbot ChatGPT.

"Never tried therapy before but this is probably it?" Lilian Weng posted on X, formerly Twitter, prompting a torrent of negative commentary accusing her of downplaying mental illness.