Émotions Podcast: Can ChatGPT Be a Good Therapist?

Can ChatGPT Be a Good Therapist?

I was interviewed by Marie Misset for the Émotions podcast on Louie Media, alongside Liza Benaym, a psychologist specializing in adolescent care.

The Topic

More and more people share their emotions with artificial intelligence: couple disputes, family problems, lack of motivation, loneliness…

Why confide our most intimate thoughts to a tool designed to generate text? And what does this say about our relationship with emotions, psychological support, and others?

Questions Explored

• How does AI influence our reactions, decisions, relationships?
• Can it create a sense of connection… or conversely weaken self-esteem?
• What are the risks, but also the responsible uses?

Speakers

• Testimonials from Camille, Marie, Thomas, Alice, Sarah, and Alexandre
• Liza Benaym - Psychologist specializing in adolescent care
• Matthieu Ferry - Clinical psychologist

My Position

I advocate for a nuanced approach: AI can be a complementary space to the therapeutic framework, not a substitute. It can help patients question their blind spots and gain autonomy, provided it’s used responsibly.

The role of the therapist, which can partly be played by AI, is to lead the person to question their question.

Further Reading

Studies and resources cited in the podcast:

• Investigating Affective Use and Emotional Well-being on ChatGPT – Jason Phang et al.
• Attachment Theory as a Framework to Understand Relationships with Social Chatbots – Tianling Xie & Iryna Pentina
• Attachment and Trust in Artificial Intelligence – Omri Gilliath et al.
• Expressing stigma and inappropriate responses prevents LLMs from safely replacing mental health providers – Jared Moore et al.

Credits

• Creation, writing and editing: Marie Misset
• Sound design: Guillaume Girault
• Production: Elsa Berthault
• Illustrations: Kim Roselier

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This podcast was featured in a Télérama article praising “a sensitive podcast offering the nuance necessary for debate”.