With the insanely fast rise of artificial intelligence, we aren’t short of chatbots and websites that allow us to use it. Chat GPT is probably the most common, but X, google and basically every other social media platform have their own model. Environmental issues aside, some applications of the software are on the less harmful end of the spectrum, such as asking it to evaluate choices, condense information, or as a search engine, although all it really does in these scenarios is take the personal thought process out of the equation.
Many people are now asking AI for medical advice, even going as far as to ask it’s input on serious life events and decisions. The main problem is that ChatGPT tends to give affirmative answers, and to a potentially vulnerable person seeking therapy all it does is feed into their delusion. Whilst it may take away the fear and stigma of having to talk to another person, AI struggles to interpret the non-verbal aspect of communication that makes up over 80% of how we talk to each other. In therapy and medical applications, body language and tone are incredibly important and taking this away leaves you with an unreliable machine telling you what you want to hear. This abundance of positive enforcement can then cause a dangerous cycle where people only talk to their AI and isolate themselves from society.
Whilst AI has some really useful applications, such as the early detection of cancers in the medical field or predicting natural disasters, there needs to be limitations for the general public. It's really important that people continue to think for themselves and not instantly jump to AI for answers, like it's some kind of genie or else the skill of critical thinking will be lost to time.