Beep boop - this is a robot. A new show has been posted to TWiT…
What are your thoughts about today’s show? We’d love to hear from you!
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Considering the stories I’ve heard about malpractice by human therapists, I suspect AI in mental health care has the same level of risk as AI-driven cars: It Can’t Be Worse Than We Already Are.
Probably the only difference is that a chatbot can affect many more people in a much shorter time than a single bad therapist can.
We will literally never have enough therapists for everyone to have access to talk therapy. For most people in the world, the choice will always be between AI and nothing, not between real therapy and a chatbot. Add capitalism and health insurance issues into the mix and even fewer people will ever have access to real mental health care. There is simply no choice but to jam AI into that gaping need and wiggle it around until it sort of fits.
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Heck it’s hard just getting medicine doctor appointments unless you’re in the emergency room.
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With regard to the air quality index, it moved from blue to green today, which is high for around here, for this time of year. We had a high of 18 at the end of May, mostly it is under 10. PM2.5, so only 1 day above the WHO daily recommended maximum level of 15.
I’m in Indiana, Close to Bloomington area (College Town) but home to IU Health Indiana’s largest health system and one of our states biggest employers. Anyhow, if you don’t have an established appt with a provider you look at about 6 to 9 months to establish an appt. A general yearly wellness check needs to be schedule 3-5 months before it’s “Due”. If you have a illness, they will usually squeeze you in with another provider in the same building as your doctor but usually you’re looking at weird slots day of or the next day for something that actually works with your schedule.
So yes, a chat bot or an online therapist to assist people when they are lonely, could go wrong, but I don’t think it’s a bad idea.
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I’m in Germany, we complain, if we have to wait more than 2 weeks for a specialist, if we are ill, we usually get an appointment the same day.
My employer requires a sick certificate from the first day of illness on, so it is important that I get to the doctor on the first day that I am unable to work.
MRI and CAT scans can take a month or so, purely because the machines are expensive and there aren’t that many around. On the other hand, I had X-ray treatment for my heel (inflamed Achilles tendon) and got an appointment with the specialist within 2 weeks and therapy began a week later.
Walmart will probably sell 30 minute slots with AI therapists developed by Chinese HS kids 
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I can see my GP same day. You raise an issue online, get telephone consultation by midday, and if necessary visit the medical centre that afternoon.
We are also lucky that our NHS Trust is excellent with referrals. My wife sees her neuro consultant and physio with no delay. Me with my heart stuff (see watch thread on AFIB) had chest x-ray as soon as I could get there, and cardiologist involved within a week. Don’t think this is representative of other NHS Trusts sadly.
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That’s also shudder-inducingly probable. 
Not ours, takes forever to get appointments with anyone for anything, to the point where I no longer bother.
The hospital is away from the town centre and has insufficient parking/ organisation of parking. I had an appointment for tests on a shoulder injury that I cancelled after 45 minutes of trying to park, I take daily painkiller meds now instead…
However it is still cheaper than the US
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Yes, we know we’re very lucky here. One of the GP partners is a neighbour too, so that helps.
You do have to get your online request in pretty quickly after the system opens at 7am, as they have a fixed number of normal appointments/day, but much better than sitting in a queue on the phone and trying to convince the receptionist you’re ill enough to see the doc.
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