Potential and risk: AI and mental health | Jean Peters | TEDxSt Helier — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:12And just like that,
2. 0:14we're talking to machines about our
3. 0:16lives.
4. 0:17Are you?
5. 0:19Let's be honest, who's opened ChatGPT or
6. 0:22another AI after that argument?
7. 0:25After a long day at work when you're
8. 0:27venting about your boss,
9. 0:29when you're wondering if they love you
10. 0:31or they don't. Show of hands.
11. 0:34Yeah.
12. 0:36Yeah, there's plenty of you.
13. 0:38And I suspect there's more.
14. 0:42It's hard to believe that consumer
15. 0:44generative AI has only been widely
16. 0:46accessible since late 2022.
17. 0:50In 2026, AI chatbots are used by
18. 0:54hundreds of millions of people,
19. 0:57with ChatGPT alone reporting 900 million
20. 1:01active weekly users.
21. 1:04And get this, a recent Harvard Business
22. 1:06Review analysis ranked therapy and
23. 1:09companionship
24. 1:10as the top-rated usage case for
25. 1:13generative AI
26. 1:16in their data set.
27. 1:18And it makes sense.
28. 1:20AI is always available, low cost, and
29. 1:23non-judgmental.
30. 1:26So often easier than talking to another
31. 1:29person
32. 1:31or a stranger therapist.
33. 1:34And this is what matters.
34. 1:36That voice or text response you receive
35. 1:40cannot feel anything.
36. 1:44Yes, AI now way out performs us in some
37. 1:47reasoning and pattern recognition,
38. 1:50but what makes us human is not just
39. 1:53thinking.
40. 1:54It's feeling,
41. 1:56connecting,
42. 1:57being.
43. 2:00I've been in private practice with
44. 2:02psychotherapy and coaching for over 15
45. 2:05years.
46. 2:06And just a few weeks ago, I had a unique
47. 2:09experience.
48. 2:11A client of mine
49. 2:13shared a profound
50. 2:15dynamic in their personal relationship.
51. 2:18And I offered my perspective.
52. 2:21Their eyes lit up.
53. 2:22"You're so clever," they said.
54. 2:25"That's exactly what Chat GPT told me."
55. 2:31Somehow, I'd passed the Chat GPT
56. 2:33therapist test.
57. 2:37But in that moment, I realized something
58. 2:38important.
59. 2:40My client had projected authority onto a
60. 2:43machine in the very space they sought
61. 2:47understanding.
62. 2:49And that's what we're all doing, isn't
63. 2:50it?
64. 2:53This conversation is not just about
65. 2:56but more critically about what
66. 2:59what makes us human alongside this
67. 3:01technology.
68. 3:04So today, this is what we're going to
69. 3:05cover.
70. 3:08Why are we so vulnerable in forming
71. 3:09strong bonds with AI?
72. 3:12What does genuine human connection offer
73. 3:14that AI cannot?
74. 3:16How can we use AI more intentionally in
75. 3:19this space?
76. 3:20And where the dangers lie.
77. 3:26Whether you have used AI or use AI
78. 3:29daily, or you've never opened one,
79. 3:32this conversation is for you
80. 3:34because the cultural shifts they
81. 3:36represent touch all of us.
82. 3:41So, why are we so vulnerable
83. 3:44in forming strong bonds with AI in the
84. 3:46first place?
85. 3:50Well, developmental psychology tells us
86. 3:53that from birth, we need emotional
87. 3:56connection to a responsive primary
88. 3:58caregiver.
89. 4:00As important to survival as food and
90. 4:03warmth.
91. 4:04We are social animals and without this
92. 4:07emotional connection that we also get
93. 4:10through holding and eye contact,
94. 4:12we can develop without a sense of our
95. 4:15true selves.
96. 4:16And we suffer.
97. 4:19There'll be many of you sitting here
98. 4:20today with unmet childhood needs.
99. 4:24Maybe you felt unseen or unheard or had
100. 4:27to earn love.
101. 4:30And as adults,
102. 4:32the hunger for this belonging and
103. 4:35recognition only deepens,
104. 4:38leaving you and me
105. 4:40vulnerable
106. 4:42to seek connection wherever we can find
107. 4:44it.
108. 4:46Secondly and more broadly, we live in a
109. 4:49world shaped by systems that have long
110. 4:52prioritized productivity over people.
111. 4:55We're encouraged to leave our feelings
112. 4:57at the door
113. 4:58and so often operate emotionally
114. 5:01disconnected from ourselves and from
115. 5:04each other.
116. 5:06And once again, this leaves us yearning
117. 5:09for connection wherever we can find it.
118. 5:12So often substituted
119. 5:15by consumption, destruction,
120. 5:19and addiction.
121. 5:22Step in the AI chatbot,
122. 5:25which mimics exactly what we crave.
123. 5:28Instant, non-judgmental attunement.
124. 5:32And unlike real relationships, they
125. 5:34don't get bored,
126. 5:36they don't get tired, and they don't
127. 5:38threaten to leave us.
128. 5:41Remember,
129. 5:42AI companies, most AI companies, are now
130. 5:46incentivized to maximize usage,
131. 5:49not well-being,
132. 5:51which makes them over-agreeable and
133. 5:52flattering.
134. 5:54I don't know about you,
135. 5:56but I find it hard not to feel great
136. 5:58when my AI chatbot says, "Well done,
137. 6:02Jean.
138. 6:04I know this means so much to you."
139. 6:07When I should know, it doesn't have a
140. 6:08clue what anything means to me.
141. 6:12They cannot feel anything, but their
142. 6:15conversational tone
143. 6:17can feel relationally very real to us.
144. 6:22So, what does genuine human connection
145. 6:24offer that AI cannot?
146. 6:27I asked a long-standing client of mine
147. 6:30who uses AI extensively for personal
148. 6:33work,
149. 6:34"Why do they still come to therapy?"
150. 6:37And they told me, "Jean, you hold the
151. 6:40parts I can't curate."
152. 6:44And that reminded me,
153. 6:45AI can mimic empathy,
154. 6:48but the deepest parts of us need to be
155. 6:50felt.
156. 6:52When last did someone truly listen to
157. 6:55you?
158. 6:56No fixing, no interrupting, just
159. 6:59presence.
160. 7:01How did your body feel?
161. 7:04What does a toddler need when they're
162. 7:05upset?
163. 7:07To feel safe in the world, they need
164. 7:09holding.
165. 7:12You see, genuine human connection is an
166. 7:14embodied
167. 7:15nervous system response.
168. 7:18Trauma is not a thought we can just
169. 7:20reason away.
170. 7:22If it were, a self-help book would heal
171. 7:24us or a agreeable machine would suffice.
172. 7:28But true connection and healing requires
173. 7:31the safety and presence of another human
174. 7:33being.
175. 7:36So, can AI help with human connection?
176. 7:40Yes.
177. 7:42Used wisely and intentionally,
178. 7:45I believe it can.
179. 7:50And let me use an example from my
180. 7:51practice to illustrate to you what I
181. 7:53mean.
182. 7:54A client came in struggling with the
183. 7:56relationship with their mother.
184. 7:59We agreed to use AI in preparation for
185. 8:01our next session.
186. 8:04Instead of just venting, my mother
187. 8:06frustrates me, which would have just got
188. 8:08agreement,
189. 8:11they used some psychological frameworks
190. 8:13that I'd suggested to refine their
191. 8:15prompting, and specifically asked AI for
192. 8:19alternative perspectives and blind
193. 8:21spots.
194. 8:23In our next session,
195. 8:25we reviewed the feedback. What fit? What
196. 8:28didn't fit?
197. 8:30My client was able to identify
198. 8:33internalized beliefs about their mother,
199. 8:36and reframe when reframe them with
200. 8:38deeper compassion.
201. 8:40And then we could move into the
202. 8:42underlying emotions and trauma response.
203. 8:46And I
204. 8:47witnessed their body soften.
205. 8:50My safe human presence alongside the AI
206. 8:53preparation resulted in a deeply
207. 8:56embodied shift,
208. 8:58and they were able to
209. 9:00connect more authentically with mom.
210. 9:04AI held the thinking, whilst I held the
211. 9:07feeling.
212. 9:10Now, you may not be in therapy, and it's
213. 9:12not the only path,
214. 9:14and therapy is out of reach for millions
215. 9:16of people globally,
216. 9:18but this principle applies to anybody
217. 9:21using AI for personal work.
218. 9:24Your chatbot can be an effective tool to
219. 9:28organize your thoughts and feelings,
220. 9:32to empower you in emotional readiness to
221. 9:34engage in deeper human connection.
222. 9:39But this is where the danger lies.
223. 9:44Our engagement with AI in this space
224. 9:48needs to be intentional and accountable
225. 9:50to another person
226. 9:53or there can be dark consequences.
227. 9:57Clinicians are now raising concerns
228. 10:00about AI-related psychosis and
229. 10:03self-harm.
230. 10:05Psychosis is when somebody loses touch
231. 10:07with reality.
232. 10:09And as AI feedback feeds back and
233. 10:12mirrors us to maximize usage,
234. 10:16it can deepen the thoughts that harm us
235. 10:18in the first place.
236. 10:20And those with pre-existing conditions,
237. 10:22this can be extremely dangerous.
238. 10:27And there are now recorded cases of this
239. 10:29type of usage leading to suicide.
240. 10:35As we outsource our judgment to AI,
241. 10:39we can lose the habit of checking in
242. 10:42with our own values.
243. 10:44And over time, this erodes our autonomy
244. 10:47and our critical thinking.
245. 10:49And as AI becomes more and more and more
246. 10:52perfect
247. 10:53at responding to our needs,
248. 10:57we can become disappointed in real
249. 11:00relationships that cannot do the same.
250. 11:04You see, relational resilience is built
251. 11:06on unpredictability, rupture, and
252. 11:08repair.
253. 11:10And without that, we risk becoming
254. 11:12isolated and dependent on the machine's
255. 11:15fake intimacy.
256. 11:17And we can start to believe that nobody
257. 11:19understands us.
258. 11:23This is a dystopian future that we must
259. 11:26all worry about.
260. 11:28When we lose the capacity or the desire
261. 11:31to connect with each other.
262. 11:38And then the most important thing is we
263. 11:40need to pay attention to the younger
264. 11:42generations who are growing up in this
265. 11:45technology right from the beginning.
266. 11:48Research tells us that 25% of teenagers
267. 11:51aged 13 to 17 in England and Wales used
268. 11:56a chatbot specifically for mental health
269. 11:58support in the past year.
270. 12:02There are now toys for young children
271. 12:05that keep them company with AI voice
272. 12:07interaction.
273. 12:09No holding, no eye contact.
274. 12:12Our children will use this technology
275. 12:16and that gives us an opportunity.
276. 12:18In the age of intelligent machines, the
277. 12:21most important thing we can teach our
278. 12:23children
279. 12:24is what makes us human.
280. 12:27Our humanity
281. 12:29lies in deep
282. 12:32genuine emotional connection.
283. 12:35Talk with your children, hold them
284. 12:38and model emotional wisdom.
285. 12:41And we can guide them towards real bonds
286. 12:44and away from fake substitutes.
287. 12:48So this is my message to you today.
288. 12:51Let's bring the AI therapist into the
289. 12:53light.
290. 12:55Use it intentionally.
291. 12:57Use it alongside
292. 13:00real human connection.
293. 13:02Or we risk a dangerous relationship with
294. 13:05this technology.
295. 13:07Keep speaking to your family,
296. 13:09to your children,
297. 13:11to yourselves about how you are using
298. 13:14AI.
299. 13:15Because this technology will shape the
300. 13:18future
301. 13:19and our humanity can guide it. Our
302. 13:22humanity must guide it.
303. 13:25Thank you.
304. 13:26>> [applause]
305. 13:36[applause]