Artificial intelligence refers to machine programs performing tasks that are typical of a specifically trained human. When people imagine a sci-fi future, AI is a near constant in their visualization. This depiction of society is not unfounded. AI is still a developing(though admittedly very rapidly) technology projected to be used in every type of industry in the future. However the main reason that the world isn’t falling into chaos from the impending fear of AI overtaking humans is the difference between an AI’s code and a human brain.
One of the most promising yet controversial domains for AI is replicating the human psyche.
These stigmas surrounding a computerized programs' ability to understand and treat human brain processes is what has hindered the development of AI in mental health until now. Yet methods such as deep learning,a machine that mimics human brains and ways of thinking, and machine learning, AI that can identify patterns and make predictions, provide extensive insight into psychology and therapy. Although it can be argued that AI is humanity's biggest threat, it can also be our greatest aid in delving deeper into the realm of psychology and mental health.
How can non human figures perceive and understand human thought processes?
AI development is currently centered on brain cognition which is in essence copying the human brain’s physical or physiological attributes into a computer. However this method is not enough to encapsulate the emotional complexity of a human.
Working together with brain cognition, cognitive psychology adds the extra depth necessary to draw humans and AI closer together. Cognitive psychology is the studying of complex human systems such as thinking, deciding, reasoning, and emotional responses.
An example of the difference between brain cognition and cognitive psychology is memory. You may vividly remember an event that occurred ten years but fail to recall what you ate for dinner just a month ago. The randomness of memory loss falls under the jurisdiction of cognitive psychology, while a robot constructed using brain cognition alone would require a programmed or manual deletion.
Three examples demonstrating the application of cognitive psychology on AI
Face Attraction:
The judgement of human faces is a heavy factor in social emotional processes as well as relationship building and connection. In the Human–Computer Interaction Laboratory of South China University of Technology, a database was created entailing the faces of people of all ages, race, gender, and ethnicities. The general preferences of the faces among all humans can be calculated and the data absorbed by AI. Using this information, AI are able to simulate human cognitive function in observing and judges different people of the same species.
Affective Expression:
Emotion can be described as a negative or positive response to external stimuli or an objective reality and refers to all human feelings such as physical, sensory, psychology, and spiritual feelings. Emotion is facilitates communication and interaction through physiological indicators such as expression of facial features, voice intonation and posture. Through expression, motivations and complex psychological activities make themselves clear to the outside world and a bridge is formed between one’s mind and reality. Methods for reenacting and identifying complex facial expressions have been created in processes where coding and motor units are manipulated on a programmed face while FACS (a coding system used to interpret facial expressions) analyzes and determines the corresponding emotion. Additionally, emotion in speech can be extracted from rhythm, resonance peaks, spectrum, and etc. Several algorithms have been developed to interpret the emotional relevance in speech, resulting in the concept of speech-emotion regulation(SER)
Music Emotion:
Research has also been done to suggest that when someone is listening to pleasant music and in a serene environment, harmful psychological factors such as stress and tension are eliminated due to the secretion of an active substance in the brain. A team of researchers from the UK developed an affective brain-computer music interface (aBCMI) to detect a user’s emotional state and attempted to stabilize the patient by providing them music that the AI has generated based on their observed needs. This system is very effective in regulating emotional states and could potentially be used in specific types of therapy
If you want to learn more about the positive impact of music, read this Science Now article: https://sciencenow11.wixsite.com/sciencenow/post/get-on-spotify-it-ll-make-you-happier.
How does AI compare with treatment from professionals?
Mental health is primarily known to be a strictly human regulated service however AI has been shown to contain features that can only enhance the mental health field. Here are some examples of the possible benefits made possible by AI.
Affordability and Reach:
No matter what industry anyone is seeking help from, money will always define who receives the better help. AI chat bots and similar tech do not require expensive appointments or specific services that require a licenced(AKA paid a salary) professional.
Chatbots are specifically designed to be easily accessed by anyone, given that they also have a device they can open the app or extension on. Furthermore, chatbots can be programmed to have the ability to interpret non verbal signs through texts or video call so they can choose the right words to comfort or stabilize one’s emotional state. In this way, a large majority of people will be able to have someone to confide and confirm their mental status with.
Efficiency:
As shown in the previous section, AI can identify mental sublimities on human levels through methods such as deep learning, machine learning, and natural language processing(AI with the ability to comprehend language as humans do). As machines, they also possess a substantial data storing capacity that may help mental health professionals with managing patients or potential research areas. AI mental health services allow for daily check ups with patients and allow signs of a bigger issue to be discovered earlier. Then, therapists could use the data from the trained AI to utilize information and formulate the best plan for their patient.
Allows patients to open up:
Talking to a sentient human versus a computer invokes very different feelings. In a survey conducted by the insurance company TermLife2Go, 500 people were asked if they lied to their therapists and 23% confessed to not being one hundred percent honest. When talking to an inhuman computerized program, people may feel less pressured or restrained as there is no chance of judgement from their doctor or more accurately, another human.
What will the future look like as AI advances?
AI continues to grow bigger and bigger not with the goal to steal jobs from professionals who dedicate a large part of their education to medicine, but rather to assist and enhance the process of treating patients. AI are tools for analyzing data and checking in with patients as well as ensuring every person with mental health concerned is accounted for. In the US, it is estimated that 1 in every 5 adults is currently or has dealt with a mental health issue. Using AI, it is possible that a future where maintaining and checking over mental health as commonly as physical check ups exists.
In a study conducted at the University of Illinois Chicago, an AI virtual agent acts as a therapist by combining voice technology with problem solving therapy techniques. The AI conducts one one one counselling sessions with patients and helps them to identify stressors or anxieties in their life and brainstorm possible solutions. Though the study is still going on, the experiment itself suggests a future in which AI fills in the gaps in therapy in which professionals cannot attend to patients themselves.
AI may be an uncomfortable and daunting concept to some, but it also holds the ability to enhance humanity and mental health services to an unimaginable height. As humans continue to harness the power of technology, the standards of health and well being are raised to a greater level.