The question is no longer whether young people are using AI for mental health care, but the soundness of the advice they receive, health officials say.
A recent survey showed that the use of AI chatbots for mental health care among adolescents and young adults has increased 60 percent in just a year, a trend that survey organizers said is likely to continue.
Hao Yu, Harvard Medical School associate professor of population medicine at the Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare Institute, led the study, which had 1,727 participants.
In this edited conversation, Yu said AI may help fill a treatment gap left by a rising problem among young people in the U.S. amid a shortage of mental health professionals. Yu said the focus should now turn to ensuring the counsel being offered is helpful and not harmful.
Gazette: What did your survey find?
