One of the great promises of A.I. and chatbots — amidst all the doom and dangers — is that the technology will provide companionship. That’s especially promising in an age that is said to be experiencing a loneliness epidemic.
[Note: The Aspen Institute says “The crisis of loneliness poses as grave a threat to public health as obesity or substance abuse. It cuts across generations and reaches around the world.”]
But it’s not just day-to-day loneliness that A.I.-powered chatbots may help assuage. There are currently claims that the work of real therapy can be accomplished — to a reasonable degree — by bots. (A.I. designers are quick to say the technology hasn’t been built for such deep-dive tasks, but that doesn’t stop people — see: People Are Using AI for Therapy, Even Though ChatGPT Wasn’t Built for It.)
Still the goal of therapy, while different for everyone, fundamentally includes being able to derive some enjoyment from life. And for that, one has to be able to rise above gloom. With that in mind, we asked two very popular chatbots to “cheer me up.” Surprisingly, ChatGPT and Google’s Bard took very different approaches to the request.
In its response, ChatGPT opted to try to boost self-esteem by presuming (without evidence) that we possessed positive personal attributes that we were failing to adequately appreciate. Here is ChatGPT’s answer to the prompt: “Cheer me up.”
“Hey there! You are amazing just the way you are, and your unique qualities and personality make you one of a kind. Keep shining your light and spreading positivity wherever you go, because the world needs more of that. You are capable of achieving great things and making a difference in the lives of those around you. Remember to take care of yourself, stay true to who you are, and keep smiling!” ###
We also asked Bard, the Google A.I. chatbot, and its very different approach include providing a list of things to do to change our outlook. Bard thought action was in order, not merely a reconsideration of our self worth. Here is the Bard reply:
I’m sorry to hear that you’re feeling down. Here are a few things that might cheer you up:
- Watch a funny movie or TV show.
- Listen to your favorite music.
- Spend time with loved ones.
- Go for a walk or do some other form of exercise.
- Do something creative, like painting, writing, or playing music.
- Help someone else in need.
- Take a break from whatever is stressing you out.
- Remind yourself of all the good things in your life.
- Look forward to something positive that’s coming up.
I hope these tips help you feel better. Remember, you’re not alone. Everyone feels down sometimes. But it’s important to remember that there are always things to be grateful for, and that things will eventually get better. ###
Going deeper presents greater challenges. As Psychology Today warns: “AI therapy could have great potential benefits and significant drawbacks” including the over-reliance on A.I. therapy. Not to mention choosing which one.
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