[placeholder to write more about AI and mental health and companionship and loneliness etc etc]

Two twitter replies I sent in one night that feel related:

This was originally a reply to the post above, but, like, way to make it about me. Been thinking tons about the ethical codes, licensing boards, and professional org standards that mental health pros must follow – and how often AI mental health startups skip all of that. They'll add a legal disclaimer, maybe hire a licensed professional as a consultant – but often temporarily and rarely add as a co-founder or decision-maker? IDK maybe I haven't dug deep enough?

Mental health AI advice seems to get less pushback than legal or medical advice, though the risk is as bad if not much worse. My take is the blurred lines between AI mental health professional, life coach, AI friend or gf/bf, or virtual cute animal reading my mood journals and giving me some self help quotes lets startups bend the rules much more.

This is a case where I wish more mental health pros would, well, learn to code. Even solo – janky UI, messy dev, whatever. Just to ensure the space is shaped by people who do the work, understand patient progress, who know they're supposed to have goals for their clients and give them tools to be healthier on their own, maybe even reduce or end treatment, so the pro can help someone new. Apps have all the time and availability in the world, why would they lose a paying client on purpose?