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Computer Says Maybe
Alix Dunn
81 episodes
4 days ago
Technology is changing fast. And it's changing our world even faster. Host Alix Dunn interviews visionaries, researchers, and technologists working in the public interest to help you keep up. Step outside the hype and explore the possibilities, problems, and politics of technology. We publish weekly.
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Technology
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All content for Computer Says Maybe is the property of Alix Dunn and is served directly from their servers with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.
Technology is changing fast. And it's changing our world even faster. Host Alix Dunn interviews visionaries, researchers, and technologists working in the public interest to help you keep up. Step outside the hype and explore the possibilities, problems, and politics of technology. We publish weekly.
Show more...
Technology
Society & Culture
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You Seem Lonely. Have a Robot w/ Stevie Chancellor
Computer Says Maybe
52 minutes
1 week ago
You Seem Lonely. Have a Robot w/ Stevie Chancellor

Loneliness and mental health illnesses are rising in the US, while access to care dwindles — so a lot of people are turning to chatbots. Do chatbots work for therapy?

More like this: The Collective Intelligence Project w/ Divya Siddarth and Zarinah Agnew

Why are individuals are confiding in chatbots over qualified human therapists? Stevie Chancellor explains why an LLM can’t replace a therapeutic relationship — but often there’s just no other choice. Turns out the chatbots designed specifically for therapy are even worse than general models like ChatGPT; Stevie shares her ideas on how LLMs could potentially be used — safely — for therapeutic support. This is really helpful primer on how to evaluate chatbots for specific, human-replacing tasks.

Further reading & resources:

  • Stevie’s paper on whether replacing therapists with LLMs is even possible (it’s not)
  • See the research on Github
  • People are Losing Their Loved Ones to AI-Fuelled Spiritual Fantasies — Rolling Stone (May 2025)
  • Silicon Valley VC Geoff Lewis becomes convinced that ChatGPT is telling him government secrets from the future
  • Loneliness considered a public health epidemic according to the APA
  • FTC orders online therapy company BetterHelp to pay damages of $7.8m
  • Delta plans to use AI in ticket pricing draws fire from US lawmakers — Reuters July 2025

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Computer Says Maybe
Technology is changing fast. And it's changing our world even faster. Host Alix Dunn interviews visionaries, researchers, and technologists working in the public interest to help you keep up. Step outside the hype and explore the possibilities, problems, and politics of technology. We publish weekly.