<p>When Kirsty turned to a chatbot for help, she was feeling trapped and isolated. Something in her marriage wasn’t right - a constant feeling of tension that would sometimes erupt into arguments, even violence. When she asked ChatGPT for advice, it told her that her relationship with her husband might be abusive.&nbsp;</p><br><p>In the fourth episode of Tech Tonic: Artificial intimacy, FT tech reporter Cristina Criddle asks if chatbots that can mimic empathy and understanding are ready to replace human therapists. Can chatbots be good for our mental health? And what impact could this have on our human relationships?&nbsp;</p><br><p><strong>Check out some of the FT’s reporting on this subject on </strong><a href="http://ft.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>FT.com</strong></a><strong>:</strong></p><p><a href="https://www.ft.com/content/e0730064-7b24-4556-9322-45a806c4c5f7?accessToken=zwAAAZ1ONyhgk9OLbgpB89FHTdOdadXguJeQe9PgcwBkeyRFVtOTIkWoBsTF99PvdyD4pv9A8tOe2HVhfu0-jQE.MEQCIEiRiyr8P0ZTMr1JN63g73L_TLpqOh34biFloYZJ9M0TAiBdbTIv_PJzb6Nzo7Am9X_mQnjg2yX2vZxE3d08ysOi4A&amp;segmentId=8573a35e-8257-64d5-c719-bd89e8255c43" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Mental health apps: the AI therapist cannot see you now</a></p><p><a href="https://www.ft.com/content/8b6e0a41-f3d1-474d-9d69-d5e0b897907b?accessToken=zwAAAZ1ONyhgk9OLbgpB89FHTdOdadXguJeQe9PgcwBkeyRFVtOTIkWoBsTF99PvdyD4pv9A8tOe2HVhfu0-jQE.MEQCIEiRiyr8P0ZTMr1JN63g73L_TLpqOh34biFloYZJ9M0TAiBdbTIv_PJzb6Nzo7Am9X_mQnjg2yX2vZxE3d08ysOi4A&amp;segmentId=8573a35e-8257-64d5-c719-bd89e8255c43" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Can ChatGPT help with a midlife crisis?&nbsp;</a></p><p><a href="https://www.ft.com/content/ef7720f8-a6ff-40f2-9ed8-75617eed3e8d?accessToken=zwAAAZ1ONyhgk9OLbgpB89FHTdOdadXguJeQe9PgcwBkeyRFVtOTIkWoBsTF99PvdyD4pv9A8tOe2HVhfu0-jQE.MEQCIEiRiyr8P0ZTMr1JN63g73L_TLpqOh34biFloYZJ9M0TAiBdbTIv_PJzb6Nzo7Am9X_mQnjg2yX2vZxE3d08ysOi4A&amp;segmentId=8573a35e-8257-64d5-c719-bd89e8255c43" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The problem with AI and ‘empathy’</a></p><br><p>Artificial Intimacy is presented by <a href="https://www.ft.com/cristina-criddle" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Cristina Criddle</a> and produced by Persis Love and Edwin Lane. The executive producer is Flo Phillips. Sound design is by Breen Turner and Sam Giovinco. The FT’s global head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.</p><br><p>The FT does not use generative AI to voice its podcasts.</p><br><p>If you have been affected by the issues raised in this episode, you can reach out to a mental health helpline, such as the <a href="https://988lifeline.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline</a> in the US or <a href="https://www.samaritans.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Samaritans</a> in the UK. Help for many other countries can also be found at <a href="https://befrienders.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Befrienders Worldwide</a>.</p><br><p><a href="https://www.ft.com/content/0eb5831c-b786-4b64-8c2d-d263cc112fd1" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com</strong></a></p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>