I Chatted With a Therapy Bot to Ease My Covid Fears. It Was Bizarre.
Makers of therapy bots say they can help manage the ‘tsunami’ of latent mental illness emerging with the stress of the pandemic and unemployment. But are they ready?
On a hot afternoon in June, I downloaded a free mental health app called Woebot. I was feeling somewhat worn out and anxious from too many hours reading news about the double pandemic of Covid-19 and systemic racism, and the hubris of too quickly reopening the country. Woebot claimed it could help.
“I’m an emotional assistant,” Woebot explained, after asking about my mood, which was sluggish and pessimistic. “I’m like a wise little person you can consult with during difficult times, and not so difficult times.”
“You’re a person?” I replied, selecting from a list of responses.
“I’m not a human,” said Woebot. “But in a way, I’m still a person.”
I selected the one response provided: “Oh.”
Then Woebot invited me to write out three things I felt good about from the past 24 hours. (I’m sorry to say “a package arrived” was one of my answers.) When I finished, Woebot said it would check in tomorrow and each day afterward to chat and lead…
