'You can't replace human connection, human judgment,' warns Sarah Caliboso-Soto, a licensed clinical social worker. 'You can't replace human connection, human judgment,' warns Sarah Caliboso-Soto, a licensed clinical social worker. Schools are using AI counselors to track students' mental health. As hundreds of schools implement an automated monitoring tool, educators say that students can find talking to a chatbot'more natural' than confiding in a human The alert came around 7pm. Brittani Phillips checked her phone. A middle school counselor in Putnam county, Florida, Phillips receives messages from an artificial intelligence-enabled therapy platform that students use during nonschool hours.

The Guardian revealed how people were being put at risk of harm by false and misleading health information in Google AI Overviews. The Guardian revealed how people were being put at risk of harm by false and misleading health information in Google AI Overviews. Exclusive: England and Wales charity to examine safeguards after Guardian exposed'very dangerous' advice on Google AI Overviews'Very dangerous': a Mind mental health expert on Google's AI summaries Mind is launching a significant inquiry into artificial intelligence and mental health after a Guardian investigation exposed how Google's AI Overviews gave people "very dangerous" medical advice. In a year-long commission, the mental health charity, which operates in England and Wales, will examine the risks and safeguards required as AI increasingly influences the lives of millions of people affected by mental health issues worldwide. The inquiry - the first of its kind globally - will bring together the world's leading doctors and mental health professionals, as well as people with lived experience, health providers, policymakers and tech companies.

Plus: social media firms have agreed to be assessed on how effectively they protect teens' mental health A "QuitGPT" campaign is urging people to cancel their ChatGPT subscriptions In September, Alfred Stephen, a freelance software developer in Singapore, purchased a ChatGPT Plus subscription, which costs $20 a month and offers more access to advanced models, to speed up his work. But he grew frustrated with the chatbot's coding abilities and its gushing, meandering replies. Then he came across a post on Reddit about a campaign called QuitGPT. QuitGPT is one of the latest salvos in a growing movement by activists and disaffected users to cancel their subscriptions. In just the past few weeks, users have flooded Reddit with stories about quitting the chatbot. And while it's unclear how many users have joined the boycott, there's no denying QuitGPT is getting attention.

"It seems like this past week has been quite challenging for you," a disembodied voice tells me, before proceeding to ask a series of increasingly personal questions. "Have you been feeling down or depressed?" "Can you describe what this feeling has been like for you?" "Does the feeling lift at all when something good happens?" When I respond to each one, my chatbot interviewer thanks me for my honesty and empathises with any issues. By the end of the conversation, I will have also spoken about my sleep patterns, sex drive and appetite for food.

'It brings you closer to the natural world': the rise of the Merlin birdsong identifying app W hen Natasha Walter first became curious about the birds around her, she recorded their songs on her phone and arduously tried to match each song with online recordings. After a friend recommended Merlin Bird ID, a free app, she tried it in her London garden and was delighted to discover the birds she assumed were female blackbirds - "this is how bad a birder I was" - were actually song thrushes and mistle thrushes. "I'm obsessed with Merlin - it's wonderful and it's been a joy to me," says Walter, a writer and human rights activist. "This is what AI and machine-learning have been invented for. Merlin is having a moment. The app, developed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in New York, which listens for birdsong and identifies the species singing, has been downloaded 33m times, in 240 countries and territories around the world. Britain has the second highest total number of users - more than 1.5 million in 2024, an 88% increase from 2023. Every month, there has been a 30% increase in new users of the app, whose sound identification function was launched in 2021. Merlin has been trained to identify the songs of more than 1,300 species around the world, with more birds added twice a year. Different songs make distinct patterns on spectrograms and Merlin is trained to recognise these different shapes and attribute them to a species. For latecomers to birding, or those lacking a knowledgeable friend, the app has become their teacher. "My fear at first was I wouldn't actually learn because I'm outsourcing my understanding of birds to this app," says Walter. "But that hasn't come to pass.

Researchers are scrambling to figure out why generative AI appears to lead some people to a state of "psychosis." Listen to more stories on the Noa app. Chatbots are marketed as great companions, able to answer any question at any time. They're not just tools, but confidants; they do your homework, write love notes, and, as one recent lawsuit against OpenAI details, might readily answer 1,460 messages from the same manic user in a 48-hour period. Jacob Irwin, a 30-year-old cybersecurity professional who says he has no previous history of psychiatric incidents, is suing the tech company, alleging that ChatGPT sparked a "delusional disorder" that led to his extended hospitalization.

Environment Animals Pets Dogs Pet dogs can help teens' mental health Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. It's old news that having a dog provides a lot of benefits. Playing with a pooch can help our brains concentrate and relax, a family dog can help prevent food allergies in children, and even fulfill our primal need to nurture. They also may have some sway over some of the tiniest organisms around--the microbes that live in our bodies. A study published December 3 in the journal found that the family dog prompts changes in our gut microbiome that result in better mental health.

Hillsborough police report'may not give answers' Families of some of those killed in the Hillsborough disaster fear they may once again be denied full accountability as the long-delayed report into police conduct surrounding the stadium crush is due to be published on Tuesday. Several people who worked on the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) investigation - including a former director - have told the BBC they doubt the report will deliver all the answers survivors and bereaved relatives were promised. Some have warned that it may lead to accusations of another Hillsborough cover-up. Families have also criticised the length and cost of the investigation - the largest of its kind ever carried out in England and Wales. The police watchdog has spent more than 13 years examining the actions of South Yorkshire Police and other forces in the aftermath of the 1989 disaster in which 97 Liverpool supporters were killed during an FA Cup semi-final at Sheffield Wednesday's Hillsborough ground.

Brain scans of 3,802 people show how the brain's structure changes at four major turning points. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. A team of neuroscientists at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom identified five broad phases of brain structure over the course of an average human life. These eras occur as the human brain rewires to support the different ways of thinking while we grow, mature, and eventually decline . In the study, they compared the brains of 3,802 people between ages zero and 90, using datasets of MRI diffusion scans .

There is no doubt artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to improve access to mental health care. "One could imagine a world where AI serves as the'front line' for mental health, providing a clearinghouse of resources and available services for individuals seeking help,'' wrote the authors of the 2023 article "The Potential Influence of AI on Population Mental Health." Targeted interventions delivered digitally through chatbots "can help reduce the population burden of mental illness, particularly in hard-to-reach populations and contexts, for example, through stepped care approaches that aim to help populations with the highest risk following natural disasters," the article states. Besides Nomi, there are an increasing number of AI platforms people are using to create chatbots to take on several roles, including that of ad hoc therapist. Yet, while AI can assist in mental health management, it cannot replace human intuition. A trained therapist observes nuances that AI can't, such as body language, tone shifts, and unspoken emotions. Chatbots can be helpful, but mental health experts stress that they should never fully replace the human experience. That said, these mainstream chatbots are frequently being used for therapeutic purposes, as opposed to chatbots designed with mental health management in mind. Industry observers say the reasons are many: They provide emotional support when people are not ready to reach out to a therapist. They are anonymous, easy to use, convenient, available anytime, safe, judgment-free, affordable, and fast. These general-purpose chatbots help by providing comfort, validation, and a safe space for users to express themselves--all without the stigma that sometimes comes with traditional therapy settings. "Talking to a therapist can be intimidating, expensive, or complicated to access, and sometimes you need someone--or something--to listen at that exact moment,'' said Stephanie Lewis, a licensed clinical social worker and executive director of Epiphany Wellness addiction and mental health treatment centers.