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Mental health service criticised for experiment with AI chatbot

The free mental health service Koko experimented with using an AI chatbot to help respond to people seeking support. The test has drawn criticism as being unethical and lacking transparency

By Jeremy Hsu

10 January 2023 , updated 13 January 2023

teenage boy is using smartphone at home

Mental health apps offer support through their platforms

Emanuel M. Schwermer

Since this article was first published, Koko founder Rob Morris clarified some details of the experiement. We have updated the article to reflect this.

A mental health service that allows people to receive encouraging words of support and advice from others has received criticism after announcing it tested AI-generated responses.

Rob Morris, founder of the free mental health service Koko, outlined in a series of Twitter posts how the firm tested using a chatbot to help provide mental health support to about 4000 …

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