The Download: generative AI therapy, and the future of 23andMe’s genetic data
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Summary
In the first trial of its kind, a therapy bot created by artificial intelligence (AI) was as effective as human therapists for treating patients with depression, anxiety and eating disorders, according to research published in the journal Science Advances.
However, the report’s authors added, the implications of the finding are “not as straightforward as they might first appear,” given that the therapy bot was a “highly idealised design” and AI in psychology is still in its early days.
Separately, a US judge has been asked to rule on who should control the genetic data of some 15 million people held by genealogy company 23andMe, after it filed for bankruptcy last week.
The case has alarmed privacy and consumer groups, who warn that the buyer could exploit the data and that the genetics community needs to agree a framework for protecting such information.
Finally, a study in the New Scientist warns that China’s efforts to clean its air by reducing industrial emissions could accelerate global warming, as the filthy atmosphere had had an unintentional cooling effect.