👩⚕️ People Couldn't Tell the Real Psychotherapists' Responses from Those of ChatGPT
Scientists from several U.S. universities simulated 18 relationship conflicts that typically require a therapist's intervention. Experienced psychotherapists and ChatGPT-4 assessed each scenario.
Then, the researchers randomly showed each 830 volunteers one of the responses and asked them to identify whether a bot or a human had written it. People struggled to tell the difference between AI and a real psychotherapist. The participants correctly identified ChatGPT's responses 51% of the time, while they correctly identified human responses 56% of the time—only slightly better than random guessing.
At the same time, participants rated ChatGPT's psychological advice higher than human opinion despite a tendency to underestimate the algorithms' performance. ChatGPT responded more empathetically, and its conclusions were no less helpful.
Experts note that AI can help treat certain disorders and, in general, make psychological help more accessible, especially for those who are reluctant to seek professional help or cannot afford it.
According to WHO, approximately one billion people worldwide need psychological help. Still, only a small fraction of those in need receive it—in developing countries, at best, one in four.
