While speaking to AI about sensitive matters can be helpful, it is also quite a double-edge sword. The system can give support for a range of sensitive topics such as mental health, personal struggles and emotional distress when you talk to ai. Stanford University found in 2023 that over 40% of online mental health services utilized AI chatbots, mostly powered by conversational agents based on advanced natural language processing models such as GPT since they seem to work well as a first contact point. Also, these tools enable honest and judgement-free conversations which could also encourage people to talk about the more difficult subjects. As one example, Woebot—an AI mental health platform—offers a therapeutic chatbot that has been demonstrated to lead users to reduced anxiety and depression symptoms (up to 22%).
But when it comes to managing sensitive subjects, AI still has a long way to go. AI has learnt some identify parameters as emotional recognition from keywords and sequences symbolization & patterns but cannot completely have a unique shape towards human emotion, body language or some hidden symbols. According to a report published by the World Health Organisation in 2022, “AI can help with diagnosing symptoms and patterns of mental health conditions but it cannot replace human empathy or provide an understanding of more nuanced feelings.” Nevertheless, It will be a while till AI can detect these subtle shifts in tone or hidden anxieties.
And the other challenge is privacy and ethics issues. Some 68% of survey respondents considered AI platforms untrustworthy because they were concerned about sharing personal or sensitive information, citing worries about data security and misuse in a 2021 survey by the American Psychological Association. Although AI can analyze large sets of data very effectively, the trust factor has always been a hurdle. In response to these challenges, tech companies like Google and Apple have adopted more stringent privacy rules for AI systems i.e anonymizing data user sensitive information and even upping the encryption levels.
AI can help deal with sensitive issues, but never forget it does not replace human professionals and you have to use it correctly(coming soon) Often times, AI can help in the early stages of support be that finding resources or developing some coping techniques. Nevertheless, for complicated or serious matters, it is still important to rely on experts. AI, as aptly put by AI researcher Geoffrey Hinton, is a tool to augment human life not to replace human connection.
In response, yes, talk to ai about sensitive issues but realise it can only go so far. While AI can offer some level of support and comfort, it lacks the nuanced understanding and empathy as human beings when dealing with sensitive issues.