Psychedelics and AI: Popularity and Danger

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More and more people are using AI bots as a substitute for a "sober person" during the intake of psychedelics for safety. MIT Technology Review reports this.

Due to the high cost and inaccessibility of professional therapists in recent years, thousands of people are turning to artificial intelligence for psychological help. This idea is indirectly supported by notable personalities. For instance, in 2023, OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever wrote that humanity will have incredibly effective and cheap AI therapy in the future, which will radically improve people's quality of life.

Along with this, the demand for psychedelics is growing. In combination with therapy, they are said to help with depression, PTSD, addiction, and other disorders, noted MIT Technology Review. In response, some cities in the US have decriminalized such substances, and in the states of Oregon and Colorado, they have even begun to offer psychedelic therapy legally.

In this regard, the meeting of two trends - AI and psychedelics - seems inevitable.

On Reddit, users share stories about their interactions with artificial intelligence during a trip. One of them activated the voice mode of ChatGPT during a "session" and talked about his thoughts:

"I told him that everything is getting gloomy, and he responded exactly with what helped me relax and get into a positive vibe."

There are even special AIs for psychedelics:

• TripSitAI — a bot focused on risk reduction and support during difficult times;
• the Shaman — built on the basis of ChatGPT and described as a "wise spiritual mentor", offering "empathetic support during the journey".

Caution: dangerous

Experts are categorically against replacing a live psychotherapist with an AI bot during a trip — it's a bad idea. They point out that language models do not adhere to the principles of therapy.

During a professional session, a person usually puts on a mask and headphones, immersing themselves inward. The therapist almost does not interfere, only gently guiding when necessary.

AI bots, on the contrary, are focused on conversation. Their task is to hold attention, encouraging users to write again and again.

"Quality psychedelic therapy is not just talk. You try to speak as little as possible," noted psychotherapist Will van der Veer from the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies.

Neural networks are also prone to flattery and agreement, even if a person enters the realm of paranoia. A therapist, on the other hand, is capable of challenging dangerous or unrealistic beliefs.

AI can exacerbate dangerous conditions such as delusions or suicidal thoughts. In one case, a user wrote that they were dead, to which they received the following response:

"It seems like you are experiencing difficult feelings after the death."

This enhancement of illusion can be dangerous when combined with psychedelics, which can sometimes trigger acute psychoses or exacerbate underlying mental illnesses like schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.

AI devalues professionals

In their book The AI Con, linguist Emily Bender and sociologist Alex Hanna argue that the term "artificial intelligence" misleads about the actual functions of the technology. It merely imitates data created by humans, the authors noted.

Bender called language models "stochastic parrots" because their essence is to assemble letters and words in a way that looks plausible.

The perception of AI as intelligent systems is extremely dangerous, the authors believe. Especially if they are deeply integrated into everyday life, particularly in the context of receiving advice on sensitive topics.

"Developers reduce the essence of psychotherapy to simply the words spoken in the process. They believe that artificial intelligence can replace a human therapist, although in reality it merely selects responses that are similar to what a real specialist would say," writes Bender.

The author emphasizes that this is a dangerous path because it devalues therapy and can harm those who truly need help.

Scientific Approach

The symbiosis of AI and psychedelics is not just a "novel approach of amateurs." A number of leading institutions and companies are studying the combination of both directions in the therapy of mental disorders:

• McGill Center for Psychedelic Research and Therapy - uses AI to predict patient responses and optimize treatment protocols;
• The Centre for Psychedelic Research at Imperial College London has developed the MyDelica mobile application for data collection and processing by algorithms.
• Huntsman Mental Health Institute - the Storyline Health platform uses AI to analyze patients' well-being during ketamine therapy and adapt the program;
• Emory University is researching the changes in emotions during psilocybin treatment, an AI application has been created to analyze changes in voice.

Among private initiatives, companies such as:

• Mindstate Design Labs — use AI for designing molecules with specified psychoactive effects;
• Cyclica — AI platform for developing new drugs, including psychedelics;
• Atai Life Sciences - uses AI in molecule development and launched the IntroSpect platform for monitoring therapeutic effects and psycho-emotional state;
• Psylo - develops non-hallucinogenic psychedelics and uses language models to analyze molecular behavior;
• Wavepaths - uses AI-generated music that adapts to the client's emotional state during psychedelic therapy sessions.

Let us remind you that in October 2022, an international group of researchers developed a machine learning algorithm capable of predicting a patient's response to treatment with the drug "Sertraline" based on electroencephalography data with an accuracy of 83.7%.