Thank you for your important article regarding the tragedy of a teen’s suicide, and its connection with AI advice (“‘You’re the only one I can talk to,’ the girl told an AI chatbot; then she took her own life,” Oct. 17).
As a behavioral pediatrician engaged with troubled youth and their families for 40 years, I have seen a rapid rise in anxiety, depression and suicidality in the past seven years. Jonathan Haidt, in “The Anxious Generation,” sees this coinciding with most kids having their own cell phones, and resultant loss of face-to-face social interactions. I agree.
AI and electronic interventions are poor replacements for in-person engagement. Human beings need to experience facial expression, tone of voice and body language to be fully comforted and understood.
There is a vast need for new systems of behavioral health care that relies on human interaction.
Nothing substitutes for human kindness, a hug and a kiss.
— Daniel J. Levy, Columbia
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