I would hope the goal is for AI to supplement current mental healthcare rather than replace it, but in the cost-cutting world run by the investor class that we live in, many more people may find that an AI Chatbot is the only affordable mental healthcare they can get.
We deserve more. Our humanity needs more:
One of the most powerful discoveries in cognitive psychology over the last twenty years has been the power of mirror neurons. These components of our brains react to the feelings of others. They can build empathetic bonds with others just by witnessing them emote. Your AI Therapist lacks mirror neurons because they aren’t sentient beings in the world (yet). Artificial intelligence is just that — artificial.
https://mytherapynyc.com/ai-therapy/
This is part of the connection we need for our mental health. It’s not clear that AI tools can provide this. It’s not human. It’s the illusion of connection when our humanity deserves the real thing. AI can supplement; it is always available and provides access to a wealth of information, but it can’t provide a real human connection.
I’d like to think that all of us deserve some of that.