美国国家公共电台 NPR--Revisiting the idea of whether AI might help those dealing with isolation, depression

Revisiting the idea of whether AI might help those dealing¹ with isolation², depression

Transcript³

The need for mental health care far exceeds the supply of therapists. Could AI technology help bridge the gap ethically⁵ and safely?

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

So many people need advice on their mental health in this country that there are not enough professionals to meet their needs. So what if a computer could help? Some people seek answers from an app on their phones. Artificial intelligence might address isolation or depression, although it also raises new ethical⁴ questions. NPR's Yuki Noguchi reports.

YUKI NOGUCHI, BYLINE⁶: Chukurah Ali overcame a traumatic childhood and, several years ago, opened Coco's Desserts in St. Louis, Mo. Her ornate cakes looked fit for baking shows. But those aren't even her favorite.

CHUKURAH ALI: Chocolate chip cookies (laughter). So simple (laughter). Those are my favorite. My grandma used to make them.

NOGUCHI: But last February, things fell apart. A car accident left Ali, a single mom who also cares for her mother, hobbled by injury, from head to knee.

ALI: I could barely talk. I could barely move. I felt like I was worthless because I could barely provide for my family at that moment. And now I lost my car. I can't even take care of my daughter.

NOGUCHI: Darkness and depression engulfed⁷ Ali.

ALI: The pain, my emotions, migraines.

NOGUCHI: Her orthopedist urged her to find a therapist, but none were available. Plus, Ali could no longer afford health insurance. She had to close the bakery.

ALI: That's stressful, too. That was my second baby.

NOGUCHI: So her doctor suggested a mental health app called Wysa. Its chatbot-only service is free, though it also offers teletherapy services with a human. The chatbot asks questions like, how are you feeling, or what's bothering you? It analyzes⁸ answers but doesn't generate its own responses. Instead, it draws from a database of psychologist-approved messages that deliver support or advice about managing chronic⁹ pain, say, or grief. That is how Ali found herself on the frontier of technology and mental health. Initially¹⁰, she felt silly opening up to a robot.

ALI: I thought it was weird¹¹ at first 'cause I'm like, OK, I'm talking to a bot. It's not going to do nothing. I want to talk to a therapist (laughter). But that bot helped.

NOGUCHI: Confined to her bed, she could text it at 3 a.m.

ALI: I would just start chatting with it. How are you feeling today? I'm not feeling it. Then it would give me these little options that I could do.

NOGUCHI: Like a simple exercise or deep breathing or listening to soothing¹² music. It focused Ali on things other than pain, and it reminded her of the in-person therapy she did years ago.

ALI: What I noticed it was doing - CBT therapy, the cognitive¹³ behavioral therapy. It's not a person but it makes you feel like it's a person because it's asking you all the right questions.

PAOLA PEDRELLI: And that is really what a therapist does.

NOGUCHI: Paola Pedrelli is a psychologist and professor at Harvard researching uses of AI to monitor mental health.

PEDRELLI: Reflect back what you're saying, naming and labeling your emotion. And now chatbot are able to do that.

NOGUCHI: Companies and researchers like Pedrelli are looking at various ways technology might improve therapy. Motion sensors¹⁴ and online activity and things like apps might help flag a patient's worsening mood. AI might also alert therapists when patients skip medications or might keep more detailed¹⁵ notes about a patient's tone or behavior during meetings. Other forms of AI interact directly with patients like Chukurah Ali, serving up suggestions based on known therapeutic¹⁶ methods.

Skeptics warn there hasn't been enough research or regulatory review and point to dangers of a chatbot misunderstanding or responding inappropriately. Many people may not be receptive to it. But research also shows some people prefer machines. There's no stigma¹⁷ with no human at the other end. Ali says as odd as it might sound, she relies on her chatbot.

ALI: I think the most I talked to that bot was, like, seven times a day (laughter).

NOGUCHI: She says mostly, it helps her help herself.

ALI: Or I will go to my physical therapist appointment, when before I'm like, no, I can do it today. I'm going to have to reschedule it.

NOGUCHI: That's precisely¹⁸ why Ali's doctor, orthopedist Abby Cheng, suggested she use the app. Cheng treats physical ailments¹⁹, but says almost always, mental health challenges accompany those.

ABBY CHENG: Sometimes, if we can't address the mental health aspect of things, we feel stuck.

NOGUCHI: And patients, in turn, get stuck because of a lack of therapists, transportation, insurance, time or money.

CHENG: In order to address this huge mental health crisis we have in our nation and even globally, I think digital treatments and AI can play a role in that and at least fill some of that gap in the shortage of providers and resources that people have.

NOGUCHI: But getting to that future also requires figuring out thorny²⁰ issues like health privacy and legal liability. And even AI's proponents²¹ argue, computers aren't ready to replace human therapists, especially for handling people in crisis.

Cindy Jordan is CEO of Pyx Health, a company that uses AI as part of its service to help people who feel chronically²² lonely. She worries, for example, about a chatbot responding to a suicidal person.

CINDY JORDAN: Oh, I'm sorry to hear that or, worse, I don't understand you. That makes me nervous. You know, we have not reached a point where - in an affordable²³, scalable way - where AI can understand every sort of response that a human might give, particularly those in crisis.

NOGUCHI: So as a backup, Pyx staffs a call center with people who call users when the system identifies them as potentially in crisis. But for more routine support Chukurah Ali says she believes technology could help many more people and recommends the app to all her friends. She constantly finds herself passing along mental health advice she learns from it.

ALI: I wasn't like this before, but now it's like, so what you going to do today to make you feel better? How about you try this today (laughter)?

NOGUCHI: It isn't just a technology trying to act human, she laughs. She's now mimicking²⁴ the technology.

Yuki Noguchi, NPR News.

INSKEEP: Hey, listen, I'm telling you, person to person, if you or someone you know may be considering suicide or in crisis, call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Just three digits²⁵ - 988.

1 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

2 isolation   

n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离

参考例句：

• The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
• He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。

3 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

4 ethical   

adj.伦理的，道德的，合乎道德的

参考例句：

• It is necessary to get the youth to have a high ethical concept.必须使青年具有高度的道德观念。
• It was a debate which aroused fervent ethical arguments.那是一场引发强烈的伦理道德争论的辩论。

5 ethically   

adv.在伦理上，道德上

参考例句：

• Ethically , we have nothing to be ashamed about . 从伦理上说，我们没有什么好羞愧的。
• Describe the appropriate action to take in an ethically ambiguous situation. 描述适当行为采取在一个道德地模棱两可的情况。

6 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

7 engulfed   

v.吞没，包住( engulf的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was engulfed by a crowd of reporters. 他被一群记者团团围住。
• The little boat was engulfed by the waves. 小船被波浪吞没了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 analyzes   

v.分析( analyze的第三人称单数 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析

参考例句：

• This approach analyzes management by studying experience usually through cases. 这个学派通常从实例获得经验，用以分析管理。 来自辞典例句
• The econometrician analyzes statistical data. 经济计量学者要分析统计材料。 来自辞典例句

9 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。

10 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

11 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。

12 soothing   

adj.慰藉的；使人宽心的；镇静的

参考例句：

• Put on some nice soothing music.播放一些柔和舒缓的音乐。
• His casual, relaxed manner was very soothing.他随意而放松的举动让人很快便平静下来。

13 cognitive   

adj.认知的，认识的，有感知的

参考例句：

• As children grow older,their cognitive processes become sharper.孩子们越长越大，他们的认知过程变得更为敏锐。
• The cognitive psychologist is like the tinker who wants to know how a clock works.认知心理学者倒很像一个需要通晓钟表如何运转的钟表修理匠。

14 sensors   

n.传感器，灵敏元件( sensor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were more than 2000 sensors here. 这里装有两千多个灵敏元件。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Significant changes have been noted where sensors were exposed to trichloride. 当传感器暴露在三氯化物中时，有很大变化。 来自辞典例句

15 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

16 therapeutic   

adj.治疗的，起治疗作用的；对身心健康有益的

参考例句：

• Therapeutic measures were selected to fit the patient.选择治疗措施以适应病人的需要。
• When I was sad,music had a therapeutic effect.我悲伤的时候，音乐有治疗效力。

17 stigma   

n.耻辱，污名；(花的)柱头

参考例句：

• Being an unmarried mother used to carry a social stigma.做未婚母亲在社会上曾是不光彩的事。
• The stigma of losing weighed heavily on the team.失败的耻辱让整个队伍压力沉重。

18 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

19 ailments   

疾病（尤指慢性病），不适( ailment的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His ailments include a mild heart attack and arthritis. 他患有轻度心脏病和关节炎。
• He hospitalizes patients for minor ailments. 他把只有小病的患者也送进医院。

20 thorny   

adj.多刺的，棘手的

参考例句：

• The young captain is pondering over a thorny problem.年轻的上尉正在思考一个棘手的问题。
• The boys argued over the thorny points in the lesson.孩子们辩论功课中的难点。

21 proponents   

n.（某事业、理论等的）支持者，拥护者( proponent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Reviewing courts were among the most active proponents of hybrid rulemaking procedures. 复审法院是最积极的混合型规则制定程序的建议者。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• Proponents of such opinions were arrested as 'traitors. ' 提倡这种主张的人马上作为“卖国贼”逮捕起来。 来自辞典例句

22 chronically   

ad.长期地

参考例句：

• Similarly, any pigment nevus that is chronically irritated should be excised. 同样，凡是经常受慢性刺激的各种色素痣切勿予以切除。
• People chronically exposed to chlorine develop some degree of tolerance. 人长期接触氯气可以产生某种程度的耐受性。

23 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

24 mimicking   

v.（尤指为了逗乐而）模仿( mimic的现在分词 )；酷似

参考例句：

• She's always mimicking the teachers. 她总喜欢模仿老师的言谈举止。
• The boy made us all laugh by mimicking the teacher's voice. 这男孩模仿老师的声音，逗得我们大家都笑了。 来自辞典例句

25 digits   

n.数字( digit的名词复数 )；手指，足趾

参考例句：

• The number 1000 contains four digits. 1000是四位数。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The number 410 contains three digits. 数字 410 中包括三个数目字。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》