Lying To Your Therapist Is Being Superseded By Telling The Truth To Generative AI
What are the primary reasons people tend to lie to their therapists during sessions, according to the research highlighted in the article?
ust out of curiosity.”
“Protecting Privacy: Users might lie about personal information to maintain their privacy and avoid potential data misuse.”
“Influencing Output: Users may provide false information to steer the AI's output in a specific direction, either for personal gain or to test the system's capabilities.”
“Entertainment: Some users may lie for amusement, to provoke a humorous or unexpected response from the AI.”
“Malicious Intent: A small subset of users may lie with the intention of manipulating the AI for harmful purposes, such as spreading misinformation or training the model on false data.”
End of ChatGPT response
The ChatGPT response indicates that people do lie to generative AI.
Some reasons for lying are to experiment and see how the AI reacts, or perhaps to protect one’s privacy, or maybe to try and influence the AI to generate a particular kind of output.
Another reason is that some people find it entertaining to lie to the AI, a kind of cat-and-mouse game or a way to get the AI to say something amusing or unexpected.
Sadly, there are also those that would lie to generative AI for malicious purposes, such as trying to get the AI to generate false information that can then be used for nefarious purposes.
Conclusion
In conclusion, people do lie to their therapists, often due to shame, fear of judgment, or a desire to avoid uncomfortable emotions. However, when it comes to generative AI, people tend to be more truthful, as they believe that the AI won't judge them, and they can maintain their anonymity. While there are still instances of people lying to generative AI, it seems that overall, people are more likely to be honest with AI than with human therapists. This has implications for the use of AI in mental health treatment and highlights the importance of understanding the dynamics of human-AI interactions in therapy.
What are the potential consequences of lying to generative AI when seeking mental health advice, as discussed in the article?
(4) Therapeutic Finalization (cont'd)
Therapy via Generative AI: There isn't any particular reason to explain to generative AI when you have gone for weeks without asking any mental health questions. Unless the generative AI has been purposefully shaped for this usage, there isn't any kind of obligation at hand.
(5) Therapeutic Distress
Human-led Therapy: Lie to avoid revealing uncomfortable matters that are distressful.
Therapy via Generative AI: People might feel more comfortable revealing distressing matters to generative AI since they perceive it as a non-judgmental and non-emotional entity. They might believe that discussing distressing topics with AI would not cause any emotional harm to the AI or trigger any negative reactions.
(6) Therapeutic Posturing
Human-led Therapy: Lie to represent themselves in a manner contrary to their reality.
Therapy via Generative AI: People might feel more comfortable being their true selves with generative AI, as they may perceive it as a non-judgmental entity. They might believe that the AI would not judge them based on their true thoughts and feelings, and therefore, they may not feel the need to posture or lie.
(7) Therapeutic Reactivity
Human-led Therapy: Lie due to concerns that the therapist will adversely react to honest disclosures.
Therapy via Generative AI: People might believe that generative AI would not react negatively to their honest disclosures, as it is not capable of having emotions. They might feel more at ease sharing their thoughts and feelings without the fear of being judged or receiving negative feedback.
(8) Therapeutic Judgement
Human-led Therapy: Lie to avoid being judged by the therapist.
Therapy via Generative AI: People might believe that AI is incapable of judging them, as it is not a sentient being with emotions and personal biases. They might feel more comfortable sharing their thoughts and feelings without the fear of being judged.
(9) Therapeutic Repercussions
Human-led Therapy: Lie to avoid the perceived repercussions for being truthful.
Therapy via Generative AI: People might believe that there are no repercussions for being truthful with AI, as it is not capable of taking actions based on the information shared. They might feel more at ease sharing their thoughts and feelings without the fear of facing any consequences.
(10) Therapeutic Privacy
Human-led Therapy: Lie since don't believe that therapy will be kept private and confidential.
Therapy via Generative AI: People might assume that their interactions with generative AI are private and confidential. However, this assumption may not always be true, as AI systems might store and analyze the data shared by users. It is important for users to be aware of the potential privacy risks associated with using AI for mental health advice.
(11) Therapeutic Ruffling
Human-led Therapy: Lie so that the therapist is not emotionally offended or made upset.
Therapy via Generative AI: Today's AI is not sentient. That being said, there is still a possibility of an "emotional" reaction to entered prompts, doing so mathematically and computationally. Most people assume that the AI won't be impacted and therefore are willing and at times eager to ruffle the features of the AI.
(12) Therapeutic Self-Denial
Human-led Therapy: Lie when don't even realize are indeed lying to the therapist. A person might lie but believe their lies to be the truth. Therapists are versed in trying to ferret out such lies.
Therapy via Generative AI: People might be more likely to lie to themselves when using generative AI for mental health advice, as they may not have a therapist to challenge their beliefs and help them recognize their lies. This could lead to a situation where people reinforce their own false beliefs through their interactions with AI.
(13) Therapeutic Logistics
Human-led Therapy: Lie about why they missed a session or were late to arrive.
Therapy via Generative AI: There isn't any particular reason to explain to generative AI when you have gone for weeks without asking any mental health questions. Unless the generative AI has been purposefully shaped for this usage, there isn't any kind of obligation at hand.
(14) Other Therapeutic Circumstances
Additional settings in which people
Based on the article, are there any indications or studies suggesting whether people are more truthful to generative AI or human therapists when seeking mental health advice?
eve to be the case.
(6) Therapeutic Posturing
Human-led Therapy: Lie to represent themselves in a manner contrary to their reality.
Therapy via Generative AI: People might feel less judged by AI and more comfortable sharing their true thoughts and feelings, without the need to posture or lie about their situation. Such assumptions about generative AI aren't fully true, but it is what people seem to believe to be the case.
(7) Therapeutic Reactivity
Human-led Therapy: Lie due to concerns that the therapist will adversely react to honest disclosures.
Therapy via Generative AI: People might perceive AI as a non-judgmental and non-reactive listener, making them more likely to be truthful without fear of negative reactions. Such assumptions about generative AI aren't fully true, but it is what people seem to believe to be the case.
(8) Therapeutic Judgement
Human-led Therapy: Lie to avoid being judged by the therapist.
Therapy via Generative AI: Similar to the above point, people might feel less judged by AI and more comfortable opening up about their struggles and experiences. Such assumptions about generative AI aren't fully true, but it is what people seem to believe to be the case.
(9) Therapeutic Repercussions
Human-led Therapy: Lie to avoid the perceived repercussions for being truthful.
Therapy via Generative AI: People might believe that there are no consequences for being truthful with AI, as it is an anonymous and non-human interaction. Such assumptions about generative AI aren't fully true, but it is what people seem to believe to be the case.
(10) Therapeutic Privacy
Human-led Therapy: Lie since don't believe that therapy will be kept private and confidential.
Therapy via Generative AI: People might assume that their interactions with AI are private and confidential, making them more likely to be truthful. Such assumptions about generative AI aren't fully true, but it is what people seem to believe to be the case.
(11) Therapeutic Ruffling
Human-led Therapy: Lie so that the therapist is not emotionally offended or made upset.
Therapy via Generative AI: People might not worry about offending or upsetting AI, as it is not a sentient being with emotions. Such assumptions about generative AI aren't fully true, but it is what people seem to believe to be the case.
(12) Therapeutic Self-Denial
Human-led Therapy: Lie when don't even realize are indeed lying to the therapist.
Therapy via Generative AI: People might be more self-aware and honest with themselves when interacting with AI, as they don't feel the same pressure to please or impress a human therapist. Such assumptions about generative AI aren't fully true, but it is what people seem to believe to be the case.
(13) Therapeutic Logistics
Human-led Therapy: Lie about why they missed a session or were late to arrive.
Therapy via Generative AI: People might not feel the need to lie about logistics when using AI for therapy, as there are no strict schedules or appointments to adhere to. Such assumptions about generative AI aren't fully true, but it is what people seem to believe to be the case.
(14) Other Therapeutic Circumstances
Human-led Therapy: Additional settings in which people might lie in a therapeutic context.
Therapy via Generative AI: People might be more likely to be truthful in other therapeutic circumstances when using AI, as they feel less judged and more in control of the interaction. Such assumptions about generative AI aren't fully true, but it is what people seem to believe to be the case.
In conclusion, it appears that people are more likely to be truthful with generative AI when seeking mental health advice, as they believe it to be a non-judgmental, non-reactive, and confidential platform. However, it is important to note that these assumptions are not entirely true, and users should be cautious when using AI for therapeutic purposes. While generative AI can be a helpful tool for mental health support, it is not a replacement for professional human therapy and should be used with caution.