I know this is a controversial topic, the idea of utilizing A.I. for mental health advice, as there are both risks and rewards. One hears about A.I. advice gone wrong in the news on a regular basis: troubled teens who talk to ChatGPT or other A.I. engines and express their thoughts about suicide, and the cases where the A.I. response doesn’t exactly discourage the talk or doesn’t do anything to help. It’s very easy to say “one shouldn’t count on a damn computer program to help with mental health,” and I agree with that 100% – or do I?
In the case of troubled teens or even young people in general, I can see the element of risk, as they might take the A.I. response as a sure thing, and maybe not have enough life experience to cherry-pick what is helpful and be aware of what is not helpful. One could even make the argument that how helpful can A.I. really be if one has to approach each “reply” to a statement as something that could be spot-on or could be totally ridiculous or unhelpful?
I’ve actually found ChatGPT to be helpful with feedback on cases of personal questions that might otherwise be directed to a therapist (which I am not involved with and have not done in these cases). I’ll give an example from something today: it’s a couple days before Christmas, and I’m about to fly out to see my family in the town where I grew up. Everyone is going to make it this year, including my adult kids, my siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, and of course my mom will be there. It will be a great (and rare) opportunity for us all to be together, and I’m looking forward to it, as we all get along (for the most part). I’ve cleared the decks as far as work obligations, and should be free to fully enjoy myself … yet I was feeling in a funk this morning.
I explained my situation and feelings to ChatGPT, and said that I was feeling melancholy and wasn’t sure why. The response, I thought, was quite interesting, and helpful. The reply included some of the following concepts: “it makes sense, even if it doesn’t feel logical.” I won’t put all of the response in quotes, because I’m going to paraphrase, but some other items of feedback included the idea that times like this carry emotional cross-currents, meaning that I’m doing something good and meaningful, but I’m also leaving my normal life for a few days, which can create some discomfort. Going someplace without knowing what all might happen – as opposed to what I can expect in my own home and routine – can create some anxiety (although I’m not too worried about any of that). Facing time and the passing of time reminds us of where we are in life, what’s changed, and what might change. My mom, uncle and aunts are all in their 70s and 80s – and my uncle even made a comment on the phone the other day that we don’t know how many more opportunities like this we’ll have, as far as who will be present. Thankfully, they’re all in good health now, but my uncle’s statement is not untrue.
ChatGPT did have this valuable quote: “Melancholy doesn’t always mean that something is wrong. Sometimes it’s more like your system saying ‘Pause, Notice.'” I think that’s a valuable insight, and in this case, I agree. I should approach the trip with gratitude, and pause and notice our family’s time together and appreciate what we have.
Another bit of A.I. insight that I appreciate is the idea that my melancholy could also relate to the weight of aging, roles shifting, and noticing how family dynamics evolve. Being a man of Gen X age with elderly parents and relatives has shifted from where they were the family leaders and took care of everyone, where as now, it’s perhaps more on me and my siblings to be the leaders.
Lastly, the A.I. advice included the prompt that I don’t need to fix this mood before I go. The act of going to the airport, waiting to board the plane, keeping busy during the flight, arriving and having my rental car, and that first moment of reunion with family – just writing this out now has me feeling that I can trust it will all go well, as I’ve planned these things carefully. And even if it doesn’t go as smoothly as I want it to, it will be ok.
One last thing that might be one of the more obvious catalysts to my mood earlier this morning was something as simple as music. I was sitting at my desk doing some work, and listening to Robin Guthrie (formerly of the Cocteau Twins), and it was very mellow with emotive melodies, and most likely contributed to my introspective mood. As I was reading ChatGPT’s advice, I came to my own conclusion that while I like this music, it wasn’t right for this particular moment. I changed it to an upbeat artist – Trombone Shorty – and sure enough, that was a nice positive boost that kicked in immediately. I still am taking the written A.I. advice into consideration, as I do feel it was helpful – but the music change was an easy fix that helped, even if on a superficial level.