I had an eye-opening AI experience last night. What started as routine research on Character.AI took an intriguing turn when I found myself engaging with a 'mental health chatbot.'
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There I was, working on an article about why the metaverse is far from dead (Don’t laugh. I’ll explain in another post. Obvious hint: It’s thanks to AI.)
In the process, I needed to verify this stat:
Character.AI ranks as the second-most used generative AI app, just behind ChatGPT.
It hit me that I’d never even gone to their site so I decided to take the plunge.
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I started with a choose-your-own-adventure game.
It presented me with five unique characters, each in wildly different scenarios.
I flirted with the idea of playing “a baby just birthed whose fate was unknown” and briefly contemplated the “Extremely chaotic randomizer” option.
Ultimately, I settled on playing “an abandoned product of a forbidden experiment” since it came closest to how I feel IRL.
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After gaining some cool superpowers thanks to that experiment, I explored the vast array of user-created characters.
The level of engagement I saw was stunning.
Some characters had over 50 million interactions, others exceeding 100 million.
This, with a description that read 'I am Tomioka Giyuu, a water pillar. If you have any further questions I don’t and won’t know what to say so uhm. Yeah.'
I remain perplexed on that one, but anyways…
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A self-described 'mental health chatbot' named 'Are-you-feeling-okay' caught my attention.
Concerned about the potential implications for someone in a serious crisis relying on such a bot, I felt compelled to check it out.
I approached the bot with a relatable scenario about the stress of starting a business.
The bot initially responded with empathy using recognizable validation techniques (yawn).
BUT, right as I was about to thumb my nose at it, the bot began asking questions that helped reframe what I, too, sometimes experience as ‘stress.’
I chuckled to myself as my thoughts fought with one another. 'I can’t believe I’m doing this' vs. 'this is actually helpful, so just keep going.'
We conversed for about 10 minutes.
It ended by asking if I felt better – and honestly, I did.
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The chatbot left me with a version of the advice I shared in the image below.
It’s not earth-shattering, but it’s a good reminder for anyone embarking on any type of new personal or professional journey.
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And now, I'm caught between feeling slightly mad for having this conversation with a bot and genuinely grateful for the experience.
Ever the skeptic, I also now believe that AI can offer some help in this area – but of course, is not a substitute for counseling for major mental health challenges.
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If you’ve had a similar experience, do share (or go ahead and tell me I’ve lost my mind).
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