With many unable to access or afford qualified therapists, AI is filling the mental healthcare vacuum, amid calls for tighter regulation
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n a quiet evening in her Abuja hotel, Joy Adeboye, 23, sits on her bed clutching her phone, her mind racing and chest tightening. On her screen is yet another abusive message from her stalker – a man she had met nine months earlier at her church.
He had asked Adeboye out; when she declined, he began sending her intimidating, insulting and blackmailing messages on social media, as well as spreading false information about her online. There were even death threats.
The experience is taking its toll on her mental health, leaving her struggling to cope. Family and friends she confided in did not take it seriously, and she cannot afford in-person therapy or counselling. As the feeling of panic rose at the sight of his words, she turns to an alternative: a WhatsApp chatbot called Chat Kemi.
