A discussion about the steps to make ChatGPT and generative AI safe and effective for mental healthcare.

Key points

• The United States is experiencing a severe shortage of mental health professionals, contributing to a growing mental health crisis. Until now, technology didn’t do much to improve this scenario.
• While the use of AI in healthcare is not new, there are moments in a technology’s maturation where a critical boundary is crossed, finally allowing for a step change.
• OpenAI’s generative AI (ChatGPT) is ready for mental healthcare when combined with a specialized second layer to make it safer and more effective mental health support. 

I’m among those amazed by the power of OpenAI’ ChatGPT and new technologies using large language models (LLMs). There is no doubt that these innovations represent a new chapter in applying Artificial Intelligence (AI) for mental healthcare. However, I’ll start this article by focusing on the human patient, not the technology.