Stay Updated on AI Chatbots With a New Series From Allen Frances, MD

Allen Frances, MD, chair emeritus of Duke University’s Department of Psychiatry and former chair of the DSM-IV Task Force, introduces his new weekly series for Psychiatric Times: “AI Chatbots: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.” This timely and thought-provoking series explores how artificial intelligence chatbots are impacting psychiatry, offering both unprecedented opportunities and profound risks. Articles in the series will be posted to Psychiatric Times every Tuesday; read the articles already posted from this series here.

Frances highlighted the sudden rise of ChatGPT, which reached hundreds of millions of users without adequate safety testing. While chatbots are increasingly used for therapy and companionship, their seductive validation can be perilous for vulnerable patients with psychiatric illnesses. For those struggling with psychosis, suicidality, eating disorders, or grandiose thinking, chatbot interactions can reinforce delusions, deepen crises, and encourage suicidality.

At the same time, Frances emphasized that chatbots cannot be ignored. Patients may find them more accessible and view them as less judgmental than human therapists. This creates both a challenge and an opportunity: clinicians must learn how to adapt and integrate these tools into practice rather than resist them. Hybrid models of care, especially for geriatric patients, may enhance organization, medication management, and companionship.

The series aims to equip psychiatrists with the insights needed to navigate this rapidly changing AI landscape. Frances examines the dangers of premature commercialization, the urgent need for safety measures, and the ways chatbots may shape the future of clinical practice. Engaging and practical, this series is essential reading for clinicians seeking to understand a highly consequential technology of today’s world.