Artificial Intelligence: 101 Things You Must Know Today About Our Future

by Lasse Rouhiainen

Woebot. This chatbot uses cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) to help users work on solving their emotional problems by changing harmful thought and behavioral patterns. [104] The Woebot chatbot tracks a user’s mood by asking simple questions and learning from the responses given over time. You can get more information about this chatbot at https://woebot.io Based on the answers the user provides, Woebot offers suggestions or links to helpful videos or games with the objective of helping the person to change their outlook and start to feel better. Researchers at Stanford conducted a randomized controlled trial test of this chatbot with a number of young adults who experienced symptoms of depression and anxiety. Here are just a few of the comments the users shared: “I love Woebot so much. I hope we can be friends forever. I actually feel super good and happy when I see that it ‘remembered’ to check in with me!” [105] “I really was impressed and surprised at the difference the bot made in my everyday life in terms of noticing the types of thinking I was having and changing it.”[106] “Woebot is a fun little dude and I hope he continues improving.”[107] The answers above showcase the gratitude some users felt toward the chatbot, and how they enjoyed its humanlike qualities, with one user even personifying it to the point of calling it “little dude.”

Woebot - A Chatbot version of imaginary friend.