Millions Turn to AI for Emotional Support and Health Advice as Experts Warn of Serious Risks
Summary
A new Oxford survey reveals millions of UK adults are turning to AI chatbots for emotional support, relationship advice, and health guidance, even as Stanford researchers and experts issue urgent warnings that AI therapy tools can produce harmful responses, reinforce stigma, and compromise user privacy.
Key Points
- A new Oxford Internet Institute survey of 2,000 UK adults reveals that 31% of regular AI users turn to large language models for emotional support, while 38% seek relationship advice and two-thirds consult AI for health information.
- Demographic trends show younger users engage with AI across all activity types, women lean more toward emotional support use cases, and men favor AI for practical tasks, yet 75% of all respondents express enthusiasm about AI chatbots' potential benefits.
- Experts and Stanford University research are raising serious concerns, warning that AI therapy chatbots can produce harmful responses, contribute to stigma, and pose significant privacy risks, making them less effective than human therapists for sensitive mental health needs.