One of the first chatbots, ELIZA[0] from 1966, attempted to offer psychotherapeutic assistance to users. I feel like since this was one of the first applications of chatbots, it would have been strongly iterated upon. But I'm not sure there's a lot of development in the field, apart from virtual companions (like Replika[1]).
So two things on my mind:
- has there been research on whether such tools could actually be significantly helpful to people facing depression, as individuals and over whole populations?
- are existing virtual companions already being prescribed by health professionals?
So two things on my mind: - has there been research on whether such tools could actually be significantly helpful to people facing depression, as individuals and over whole populations? - are existing virtual companions already being prescribed by health professionals?
[0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ELIZA [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Replika