aggarwal addsresearchers argue its easier for ai to unlearn biases when compared to humans but are ambivalent about the bigger question should anyone with a mental health problem be talking to a bot there is definitely potential for apps to be harmful based on the way the chatbot responds says aditya vidyam a research assistant at harvard university whose work focuses on digital psychiatry speaking to a chatbot he adds can be a hit or a miss and individuals with depression would not want to hear a computer say i know how you feel or i have felt that way before toocurrently there isnt enough research to gauge the impact these virtual therapists have on users but there is also no evidence that suggests patients should be deterred from interacting with a bot as long as there is human intervention in the process nimesh desai director of the institute of human behaviour and allied sciences says technology can bridge the huge gap between need for therapists and availability it would be stupid to not encourage the application of ai in the mental health sphere but one should maintain caution regulations around it should be more stringent says desai who is also ceo of state mental health authority delhi ai shouldnt be a standalone activity the expertise of ai should be combined with inperson guidance iit delhi associate professor arpan kar says the diagnosis of any mental disorder through chatbots is not unethical but prescribing a treatment or medication through ai is chatbots in the wellness sector will always have a higher outreach if taught properly they will have higher accuracy and the quality of assessment will also be top notch but the larger worry is if the model is flawed who should be held accountable the user the data context which trained it the developer or the company that commercialised it asks the professor