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The Hidden Risks of AI Mental Health Apps No One Talks About
Manage episode 480195029 series 3563790
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This week on The AI Report, Liam Lawson is joined by journalist Kate Farmer to discuss a growing trend in mental health: the rise of AI therapy apps.
Kate recently published an investigative piece on Wysa, Woebot, and other mental health platforms that use AI to simulate therapy conversations. In this episode, she shares what it was like to interact with these tools firsthand, what users are actually experiencing, and why many of these apps are skating a dangerous line between wellness support and clinical treatment.
They also explore how these apps bypass regulatory scrutiny, the ethical challenges of relying on AI for emotional support, and how vulnerable users, especially those waiting for real therapists, are often left with few other options.
Also in this episode:
• Why rule-based AI might be better than LLMs in mental health
• How companies use marketing language to dodge legal oversight
• The limits of empathy, personalization, and context in AI
• What’s actually happening with your health data when you use these tools
• Why CBT still matters and how to use these platforms safely
This is a powerful, clear-eyed look at how AI is entering spaces once reserved for humans and what this means for trust, privacy, and care.
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Chapters:
(00:00) Why AI Is Not a Therapist
(01:06) Kate’s Background and Reporting Focus
(04:35) Revisiting AI Therapy Post-ChatGPT
(06:13) How Wysa Actually Works
(09:45) Empathy, Context, and Their Limits in AI
(11:13) Why Intake Matters in Mental Health
(13:39) False Personalization in Therapy Apps
(14:47) Real User Reactions to Wysa and Woebot
(16:28) When AI Becomes a Stopgap for Care
(18:05) The Case for Rule-Based CBT Tools
(22:08) AI Safety in Mental Health Tools
(27:30) Scale vs Support: The Infrastructure Gap
(29:25) Avoiding FDA Regulation with Clever Framing
(31:06) “Line Skating” and Legal Grey Zones
(34:42) The Health Data Economy Behind These Apps
(39:00) How Much Your Mental Health File Might Be Worth
(43:04) Accepting Flaws When There’s No Alternative
(44:02) CBT’s Real Strengths and Use Cases
(45:18) How to Use These Tools Without Risk
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