AI Tool for Youth Mental Health: SensAI

0:00From the Daily News Now Network, this is Corey with The Story With Cindy News Today. Australian researchers are launching a two-year project to build a safe AI tool called Sense AI for youth mental health support. Funded by more than $5 million from the Welcome Trust, the effort comes from Origin Digital in Melbourne and aims to offer personalized, helped to young people and their clinicians between therapy sessions. Young people are already turning to chatbots like chat GPT for emotional support, with one study showing about one-third using them that way. The new tool will integrate into existing online services to assist with goal-setting and therapist assigned activities while gathering real-time. Feedback to improve care. Experts and users see huge potential but stress the risks. A 19-year-old medical student on Origin's Youth Council says it's a safer option for peers facing issues around the clock, though nothing beats. Human therapists. A 30-year-old with post-traumatic stress disorder notes

1:01chatbots can validate harmful thoughts without proper checks. Recent studies highlight problems with general AI models, like biases and encouraging delusions and vulnerable users, though no rise in clinic cases so. Far. Psychologists are pushing regulators for better oversight, and psychiatrists agree AI needs strong safeguards before wider mental health use. This project plans to share its findings openly, helping shape reliable AI tools that complement professional care without replacing it.