Using An AI Persona To Impersonate Your Therapist So You Can Get Inside Their Head

In today’s column, I examine an unusual twist when it comes to using generative AI and large language models (LLMs) for mental health guidance. The twist has to do with invoking AI personas. Here’s the deal. Some people who regularly see a human therapist are tempted to craft an AI persona that is likened to that of their therapist. An AI persona is when you tell generative AI to pretend to be similar to a person or a role. It is easy to invoke an AI persona. In the case of mimicking a human mental health professional, all you need to do is enter prompts describing them, and voila, the AI will appear to impersonate that therapist.

Please know that this use of an AI persona is not going to be especially realistic, and you are deluding yourself into thinking that the AI can do this magically and miraculously. Are there any upsides to trying this anyway? Or is it all downsides?

Let’s talk about it. This analysis of AI breakthroughs is part of my ongoing Forbes column coverage on the latest in AI, including identifying and explaining various impactful AI complexities (see the link here).

AI And Mental Health

As a quick background, I’ve been extensively covering and analyzing a myriad of facets regarding the advent of modern-era AI that produces mental health advice and performs AI-driven therapy. This rising use of AI has principally been spurred by the evolving advances and widespread adoption of generative AI. For an extensive listing of my well over one hundred analyses and postings, see the link here and the link here.

There is little doubt that this is a rapidly developing field and that there are tremendous upsides to be had, but at the same time, regrettably, hidden risks and outright gotchas come into these endeavors, too. I frequently speak up about these pressing matters, including in an appearance on an episode of CBS’s 60 Minutes, see the link here.