People these days are turning towards artificial intelligence to find emotional support, even though ChatGPT wasn’t originally designed to be a therapeutic tool. Talking with the chatbot gave Chucky Van Slyck, who was struggling with depression, the sense of comfort he was looking for. ChatGPT showed him that it had empathy, showing understanding and compassion to his plight when it came to seeing his parents again. “When it comes to seeing your parents again, it’s important to prioritize your own needs and wellbeing,” the chatbot responded. “Consider what you need in order to feel comfortable and safe in their presence. It’s okay to set boundaries about how much time you spend with them, what topics of conversation are off-limits, and how they address you and your identity.”
Encouraged by the responses from ChatGPT, Van Slyck felt that it lightens the emotional burden of talking to someone else. “It provided what you would want to hear from a friend or a supporter in your life,” said Van Slyck. “Just that encouragement that sometimes you just want to hear from someone else — something, in this case.” Throughout this process, he looked to the chatbot as some sort of emotional support and a way to speak his feelings.
ChatGPT is a popular chatbot developed by Microsoft. It uses natural language processing, machine learning, and deep learning to generate responses to user questions. Based on user’s input, it is capable of understanding the context of conversations and offer thoughtful responses. ChatGPT is specifically designed to be used for research and understands language from a variety of dialects, enabling it to process and respond to inquiries accurately and efficiently. Microsoft views ChatGPT as a tool to be used for a variety of different tasks, ranging from providing customer support to research and development. Whether the chatbot’s true use was designed to be therapeutic or not, it is undeniable that the chatbot can provide valuable and empathetic support to many in need.
