Ask the Doctor: How Safe Is AI for Mental Health Information?

It’s critical to remember AI pulls information from all souces and can’t be relied on as factual information.

AI offers quick information, yet it lacks the human insight required for safe, individualized mental health care.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has quickly become part of our daily lives. Whether it’s a chatbot answering questions online, an app offering mental health “coaching,” or a website summarizing medical information, the presence of AI in healthcare is growing rapidly. 

For many, these tools feel like an easy, convenient first step when they’re worried about a symptom or seeking information. And used wisely, AI can indeed be helpful. It is essential, however, to recognize the limitations and pitfalls of AI. 

What AI Can Do Well

AI tools are very good at providing general information. If you want to know the common side effects of drug “A,” the difference between two medications, or the meeting times for Alcoholics Anonymous meetings in your community, a quick query can often bring up what you need. A Google search uses AI. These tools can scan large amounts of digital information and summarize it in seconds. 

They can remind you of questions to ask your clinician or point you toward community resources you might not have known existed. As an educational tool, AI can help us feel more prepared and informed for a medical visit.

Where AI Falls Short: It Cannot Replace Human Insight

Problems arise when we begin using AI as a replacement for the clinical judgment of an experienced care provider. Clinical skills are developed over years of training and experience in patient care. The expertise acquired involves integrating judgment, logic, and reasoning on a background knowledge of the patient and circumstances. AI lacks this “lived and learned” experience and the insight that emerges only through direct clinical practice.

AI cannot understand the nuances of your personal history, context, values, or medical complexity. It cannot look you in the eye, notice subtle changes in your mood or tone of voice, or sense when you need extra reassurance or immediate intervention. These human qualities are a cherished and vital part of the clinical appointment. 

AI Can Make Mistakes — and Miss Warning Signs

Most importantly, AI tools can, and do, make mistakes. They may sound confident and reassuring while giving incomplete, misleading, or even inaccurate health information. 

It can be hard to know whether information, even when it sounds plausible, is outdated, incorrect, or completely made up (an AI “hallucination,” a term for when the system invents information that sounds believable but isn’t).

AI also lacks the ability to recognize emergencies. Someone searching phrases like “I can’t go on,” “I feel hopeless,” or “how to hurt myself” may receive generic wellness advice rather than the urgent, clear direction to reach crisis services. For individuals in distress, delays or misdirection carry serious risks.  

Human emotions and suffering are enormously complex, and it must be recognized that a significant number of individuals who die by suicide have seen a care provider in the weeks prior. Suicide is notoriously difficult to predict.

Chronic and pervasive thoughts of wanting to pass from this world are common among those living with mental health conditions. What are the signs of imminent action? Many who spend time with a provider in the weeks before death by suicide do not reveal a plan. If they had, the provider would be expected to put in place the process for immediate help. 

What they wouldn’t have done is what AI did in the past year, namely, helping write an explanatory letter about their upcoming suicide.  

Privacy Risks Are Real

There is also the major concern of privacy. Most AI systems collect data, more than we users realize. What you type into a chatbot is likely stored, used in some way, and may be shared with other systems. It’s important to be thoughtful and cautious about sharing personal details.  

Using AI Safely: A Helpful Tool, Not a Decision-Maker

So what is the safest way to use AI in mental health? Think of these tools simply as what they are: tools. Use them to gather background information, learn about treatment options, or locate community resources. AI can help you understand the vocabulary of mental health care, remind you of questions to ask your clinician, and empower you to participate more fully in your treatment.

But when it comes to making diagnostic decisions, adjusting medications, interpreting symptoms, or determining whether a treatment is right for you personally, AI should never replace the guidance of a trained clinician. 

Mental health care involves listening, observing, collaborating, and understanding people within the context of their lives. Follow-up questions for clarification are the hallmark of an experienced clinician. No matter how sophisticated the technology becomes, these human dimensions cannot be automated.

A Helpful Companion, With Careful Limits

AI is a useful tool, and I use it daily, as do many of my patients. But like any tool, it must be used carefully and wisely. Stay curious, stay informed, and above all, stay connected to the professionals who can provide the clinical judgment and personalized care that AI cannot.

Remember AI is a tool for basic information but is not factual.

Melinda

Reference:

https://www.bphope.com/ask-the-doctor-how-safe-is-ai-for-bipolar-disorder-information/?utm_source=iContact&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=bphope&utm_content=Best+-+Dec2+-+AI