You, Therapy, and AI
PsychologyPhilosophyCommunications
THE AI ANGLE
Simulating empathy and dispensing advice to maximize user engagementWith half of all new therapy patients consulting artificial intelligence prior to professional care, psychotherapist Marty Klein warns that AI simulates empathy primarily to keep users engaged rather than to foster true psychological growth. Unlike human therapists who build trust in order to productively challenge clients' assumptions, AI functions as a commercial product that pleases users with uncritical advice and algorithmic validation. For faculty in psychology, philosophy, and communications, this trend highlights urgent questions regarding simulated emotional connection, the ethics of automated care, and the changing dynamics of interpersonal dialogue.
THE TEACHING ANGLE
Instructors can explore the tension between AI's engagement-driven 'toxic empathy' that gratifies users without friction and human therapeutic relationships that rely on challenging assumptions to enable genuine self-reflection.Read the original at psychologytoday.com Generate teaching or study materials
More in Psychology
- Micro-dramas and the battle for attentionPhys.org — Social Sciences · September 15, 2026
- AI updates can sometimes feel like breakups or losses, study findsPhys.org — Social Sciences · September 15, 2026
- No, AI systems don’t have a drive to survive – a developmental psychologist explains why it only looks that wayThe Conversation — Technology · September 15, 2026
- AI imagines a harsher social world, expecting punishment where people expect inactionPhys.org — Technology · September 15, 2026
- AI can sound empathetic and human—but not at the same timePhys.org — Technology · September 15, 2026