Artificial Intelligence in Psychology
Giuseppe Riva, Chiara Rossi, Fabio Frisone, Osmano Oasi
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is emerging as a transformative element in psychological support, enhancing access, personalization, and monitoring of therapeutic interventions. This article examines the role of AI in mental health, highlighting its benefits, challenges, and future perspectives. AI-based tools, such as therapeutic chatbots, digital platforms, and emotional monitoring systems, facilitate psychological support delivery, increasing availability and reducing economic and geographical barriers.
The main advantages include continuous support, personalized interventions through individual data analysis, real-time symptom monitoring, and reduced stigma associated with seeking psychological help. However, several critical issues remain, including data privacy and security issues, the risk of over-reliance on the technology, and its inherent limitations — AI is not a person — so it has no empathy, humour or irony, and is subject to algorithmic bias.
A hybrid model integrating AI with human intervention (System Zero, 0) is being proposed to maximize benefits and mitigate limitations, ensuring ethical and complementary use of the technology. Future research should focus on improving AI’s adaptive capabilities, defining regulatory standards, and developing new technologies to enhance the effectiveness of digital psychological support.
Keywords
Artificial Intelligence, Psychotherapy, Therapeutic Chatbots, Digital Platform, Therapeutic Alliance.
