CHat GPT has become a therapist. And it is not a way of saying how much a fact. It is not unusual to find on Tiktok tutorial that explain how to simulate a psychotherapeutic session with the chatbot, and also on Reddit there are many who tell they use artificial intelligence to analyze parents’ behavior or as life coach or even as a fortune teller, to have answers on your future. What is going on? Why do you prefer to confront artificial intelligence instead of talking to a person in flesh and blood?
Chat GPT: open 7 days a day, 24 hours a day
Beyond the curiosity and attraction that technology can exercise on young people, recently the use of chat GPT is the therapeutic one, Life Coach or even fortune teller. What do all these things unite? The fact that if a question or a doubt arises, perhaps embarrassing and at 3 am, chat GPT is there, available. «The most advanced forms of artificial intelligence, such as chatgpt, They have a feature that deeply attracts the new generations: they are always available. There is no need to make an appointment, wait, face the embarrassment of being seen, judged or exposed. Just write and immediately an answer comes»Explains the Dr. Paola Fumagalli, psychologist and psychotherapist. To availability is also added another feature: The answer is always kind and empathetic. In short, it is more to wonder why not to use artificial intelligence to break all their anxieties.
«And it is normal for teenagers and young adults, engaged in the difficult construction of the self and in the management of confused and difficult emotions to appoint, all this exercises charm. In the language of psychoanalysis, we could say that the‘Ai works as a neutral container, which does not judge, does not reflect frustration, does not put the relationship at risk. But for this reason It does not really question the unconscious, it does not produce that transformative movement that is born only in the encounter with another human being». That is, the “work” that this chatbot does is obviously superficial and certainly not valid to really deal with the problems.
The need for closeness
Behind this behavior not a simple passenger fashion as in reality the need to be listened to and the need for proximity that the new generations are demonstrating. And this, as the expert explains, leads to Consider spaces such as chatbots safe places, where you can vent and express yourself yourself, without the risk of being judged.
«In this case, technology responds to a fragility: that of do not know who to turn to when you feel alone, confused, or in difficulty. Ai offers an immediate, predictable, always available dialogue. It is reassuring because it does not put embarrassing conflicts or silences. Of course, it will never be able to replace the human relationship, but it is a signal: The boys are looking for a space in which to feel welcomed. The fact that they often find it in a car should make us think about how much Today authentic relationships are missing, time for listening and emotionally present adults».
There are obviously the “against” to this system, first of all the fact that Chatgpt gives “Comfortable“:« A good therapist may not understand immediately, he can put in difficulty, he can touch themes that the patient would not want to address. But it is precisely in that game of questions, silences, misunderstandings and frustration that the possibility of change opens. Ai has no body, it has no look, it does not have a real physical presence. This makes it easier to “manage”, especially for young people who may be afraid to expose themselves, to show themselves fragile, to really be seen. But right where there is no risk, often there is not even growth. “
Too much sensitivity and too much little familiarity with managing it
But what is the basis of this situation? Certainly the fact that today’s young people are very sensitive and above all they do not have the tools to manage their sensitivity. But also because they never have the opportunity to stop and reflect on their complex emotions, thus coming to be overwhelmed by the outside world.
To this can also be added the risk that The one with GPT chat can become an emotional and emotional dependence: «It can happen. When AI becomes the only interlocutor with whom the young man confronts, an emotional dependence relationship can be established. AI, in its neutrality, risks becoming an idealized object that cancels the need for the other real. Furthermore, by providing immediate and frustration answers, you can trigger a dynamic similar to social dependence or video games: each interaction gratifies, but does not transform. Thus you enter a closed cycle, where anxiety is subsidence but risks not leading to a real psychic maturation process. Ai reassures, but it doesn’t really change us. It is comfortable, but does not set the desire in motion. For this reason it can be a starting point, but not a substitute for the real therapeutic relationship ».
So how to do it? “The point is not to be “too” or “little” as sensitive as to have the tools necessary to recognize and regulate one’s emotions. And it is precisely here that emotional education and psychological support become fundamental: to help children not be afraid of what they feel and Transform sensitivity into a resource, not in an obstacle ».
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