[News] Sonia's AI chatbot steps in for therapists | TechCrunch

A new company called Sonia has made an AI chatbot that acts like a therapist. People can talk to it on their phones about their problems, like feeling sad or stressed. The chatbot uses special AI models to understand what people say and give advice. It costs $20 a month, which is cheaper than seeing a real therapist. The people who made Sonia say it's not meant to replace human therapists, but to help people who can't or don't want to see a real one. Some people like talking to the chatbot more than a human. But there are worries about how well it can really help with mental health issues. The chatbot might not understand everything as well as a human therapist would. It's also not approved by the government as a medical treatment. Sonia is still new, and we'll have to see how well it works as more people use it.

by Claude 3.5 Sonnet