With the rapid development of artificial intelligence, it has been seriously discussed recently that such systems can start to replace people in certain subjects. Now, a controversial move has come from the US National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA).
NEDA has shut down its long-running telephone helpline. Effective June 1, the organization will lay off the people who coordinate this department and respond to calls. The controversial part of the job is that artificial intelligence will be used instead of employees.
Chatbot will now respond to people who seek help
NEDA, a nonprofit organization, stated that now those trying to reach out for help can access a chatbot called “Tessa” instead of real people. The organization claimed that artificial intelligence would serve those with eating disorders better than humans.
Even if NEDA says so, there may be another reason behind the layoffs. Those fired from NEDA were informed of this change just four days after they decided to unionize. This sparked rumors that NEDA’s move was to retaliate against the union. The helpline workers complained about not having enough resources and staff.
NEDA is the United States’ largest nonprofit focused on eating disorders. The mission of the association is to offer support and resources to people affected by eating disorders. And for over 20 years, people have been able to call the toll-free NEDA helpline for guidance on these issues. However, this small helpline team of 6 paid staff and around 200 volunteers is no more.
From June 1, the artificial intelligence chatbot Tessa will answer people’s questions. This is a mental health chatbot developed by a company called Cass. The model, which is said to be unable to carry out fluent conversations unlike the likes of ChatGPT, was first created in 2018 under the guidance of two behavioral health researchers.
The fact that people with eating disorders will talk to artificial intelligence raises great concerns
As you can imagine, this development raises some questions. Artificial intelligence models are receiving a lot of criticism for producing things like prejudice and disinformation. That’s why putting such a bot in front of people suffering from eating disorders also raises concerns.
The big question mark is whether such a model can empathize, provide accurate information, and replace talking to a real person. Helpline workers also say they believe a chatbot is no substitute for human empathy and that this decision will do irreparable harm to the eating disorder community.
58487
