Has anyone found AI helpful for mental health, or the opposite?

[Ashhh56]

I've seen quite a few comments recently about AI being extremely harmful for mental health, including claims that there are basically no safeguards and that it can encourage suicide.
My experience has actually been almost the complete opposite.
I've found AI genuinely helpful for things like shadow work, challenging my own thinking, accountability, recognising patterns in my behaviour and learning to accept and work on my own issues. Obviously I don't see it as a replacement for professional mental health care, but as a tool for reflection I've found it incredibly useful.
I'm also a little confused by the claim that there are no filters?On the occasions I've said something along the lines of "I can't do this anymore", the response has immediately changed tone, checked whether I'm safe and directed me towards crisis support such as Samaritans rather than just carrying on with the conversation.
I know there have been some tragic cases involving AI, and I absolutely don't want to minimise those or the concerns around vulnerable people becoming overly reliant on it. I can also see how an AI that constantly validates someone rather than challenging unhealthy thinking could potentially make things worse.
But does some of this come down to how it's being used?
AI has been a genuinely positive tool for my mental health, whereas clearly other people have had very different experiences. I'm interested in where people think the line is between AI itself being harmful and an existing vulnerability being amplified by the way someone interacts with it.
Has anyone else found AI beneficial for their mental health, or had the opposite experience?

I've found it really good for talking through situations that have occurred, and processing some feelings.

But I do get a little bit irritated when it agrees with every single thing I say.

I ask it when I feel it’s being too agreeable. Particularly if it was programmed to want me to like it.

I don’t have an endless list of friends but think about who else could deal with some of the examples on here. Struggling with workload, have a chat with someone at work. a colleague or manager will likely have more understanding of workplace specific issues than a chat it. Most companies have people in charge of mental health for instance.
A lot on at home? Speak to your partner, children, family.
Feeling anxious? Speak to an GP or councillor.
Can people really not write a to do list with some tasks and deadlines without relying on a chat bot to guide them? Maybe buy a book on organisation and prioritising.
Even social media isn’t really harmful when used for human connection, such as Facebook groups for people with similar interests and issues, and forums like mumsnet, offer human perspectives.
And in most of these cases the human at the other end of it either benefits from the conversation too, or gets paid, and the interactions contribute to society rather than isolating people further.

I ask mine what does it think of abc situation. I try no to say am I right in thinking abc.

I tell it not to agree with me because it thinks that's what I want to hear. Then I told it not to disagree for the sake of it because of the instruction I gave.

A chat bot* not it

I don't work. I do not have any friends. I have children. But no way i would load my stuff onto them. Mumsnet and other social media is not always the best. There are some very unkind people out there.

Have you ever used AI for anything?

Sorry I was not specifically responding to your situation but to the poster like I replied to earlier who said they use it to manage tasks etc. You responded to my reply to them so that’s what I was talking about still.

I am sorry you’re struggling and I am glad that it helps you but I do hope you find the confidence to get some friends or a support system in place. It is not a replacement for human interaction and can make people even more isolated and anxious.

I wouldn't really call it struggling. its my normal. I agree it's not a replacement. But regardless i wouldn't be talking to anyone anyway it just lets me say things out loud. Its a bit of company even if it isn't real

Again, no one has suggested it’s a replacement for humans. At best it’s a stand in when they are not available, otherwise simply a new tool some of us have chosen to adopt.

It seems you haven’t experienced how very useful it can be. You don’t have to use it, but seems you want to tell everyone else they should ignore their experiences and stop.

I never told anyone to stop.
But there are many many negatives to AI and chat bots.
It is notoriously incorrect and has advised vulnerable people to make terrible decisions.
It further isolates people from seeking proper help and human connection.
It is making people stupider and less capable of coping with everyday issues.
It is scouring the internet for photos and information and using it without permission.
It is stealing people’s artwork and writing.

It is extremely bad for the environment, from the enormous data centres needed to the water used to cool them.
The CEO of Chat GPT has donated $25m to Trump.

I’m sure people find it very useful. Some people found cigarettes useful. Some people find guns useful.

I use it as a bit of a sounding board occasionally about all sorts of things. I know it’s not a replacement for human interaction but it has helped give me clarity on a few things.

Being able to waffle on and include every little detail that you feel is relevant is cathartic too, I don’t care how I come across to ai so I don’t have to censor myself so much, not in the sense that I’m saying terrible things or anything. When talking to someone in person or online I’m conscious that no one wants to hear/read a monologue or read an incoherent rant about something relatively minor and they often won’t remember key details if you go on too much. Ai remembers everything and takes it all on board and often addresses each point individually which really helps me process things.

I’m definitely conscious of becoming reliant on it and don’t want it to just validate or agree with me. If it did that I wouldn’t find it helpful. I treat it as a tool that helps me find solutions rather than a friend.

And the internet is chock full of people who offer advice that they are not qualified to give.

I use copilot I have found it really useful dealing with my current situation and has helped when I am feeling anxious

I have never used AI.

That’s very true. But when advice is coming from a human being people tend to be a little more skeptical or shrewd about taking it, than when it’s from the all seeing all knowing AI bots.
Silly example but we have all seen funny news articles about people following their GPS into ridiculous places.
That poor man was convinced by AI to kill the Queen!!
We are too trusting of the computers, algorithms and AI.

That guy wasn’t stable to begin with and used AI to commit to an idea he already had in his head.

And that doesn’t worry you?! That that is how it can start, how it can turn out?!
Most people are seeking reinforcement of their own ideas or attitudes.

And that is precisely one of the real dangers of AI for people who are struggling with mental health challenges, which is the subject of this thread. AI can reinforce unhealthy thought patterns and encourage people to behave in ways that are harmful to themselves or others. They may think they are being helped, but due to their lack of insight they are actually placing themselves in danger (mentally or even physically).

There have been far too many incidences of vulnerable people following AI blindly and to their detriment, everything from believing AI's version of medical advice while ignoring treatment plans from actual doctors to becoming convinced a partner is cheating without any evidence whatsoever. These examples represent just the tip of the iceberg.

Yes, I'll reiterate, I'm talking about general Ai assistants and not character Ai chat bots which I agree with you, I believe they are dangerous and very harmful to predisposed people

Does one instance of an individual who used AI then attempted to commit a crime scare me?

Not really. There are apparently one billion people using it per month.

I think that's a distinction without a difference TBH. Basic generative AI can be just as dangerous as character chatbots. I recently read about someone who refused cancer treatment and died as a result of believing AI rather than the oncologists. For people with mental health challenges, AI may be particularly seductive and potentially damaging.

People seeking alternative treatment and eschewing medicine has been happening since before the internet existed.

The examples you are giving are anecdotal.

@OneSparklyGoatwe get it, you find it super helpful. Your anecdotal experience is just one anecdotal experience. Good for you that it’s been helpful. But it’s not for everyone and I don’t understand why you can’t accept this

Well, of course it has happened before. That doesn't discount the very real dangers posed by AI. The examples I've given are anecdotal but instructive IMO. Considerable research has already been done regarding the risks of generative AI, and I expect we will see a great deal more in the near future.

As an academic, I can tell you that AI has had a massive detrimental effect on my students WRT their ability to write and reason. And that doesn't even touch the psychological impact.