Will bots replace docs?

In days of yore, people in distress usually turned to family, friends and occasionally the clergy for help but for many years now, much of the burden of dealing with human misery has been transferred to medical professionals. Going forward and given that the iPhone and social media are ubiquitous in the daily lives of most of us, it is probably no surprise that the latest psychological support system comes in the form of a chatbot. For a modest fee and the use of Facebook messenger, individuals with anxiety or depression can now access the wonderfully named Woebot — a chatbot “you can tell anything to” that uses texts and emojis to provide self-help based on cognitive behavior therapy principles. Woebot doesn’t suggest medications but instead “functions as a friend” and unusually for this type of technology actually has some positive data behind it showing improvements in depressive symptoms earlier than anticipated. Meanwhile, another company has created an artificial intelligence bot that claims to understand emotions. According to its creator, Emotibot will take your side after an argument a girl or boyfriend “by throwing angry face emoticons to your chat interface and use sarcastic tones such as, ‘Oh, I’m not surprised he or she did that.’” Continue reading ... Your patients are rating you online: How to respond. Manage your online reputation: A social media guide. Find out how.
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - Category: General Medicine Authors: Tags: Tech Primary Care Psychiatry Source Type: blogs