6 ms·

"Caryn's original intention was to provide companionship and alleviate loneliness in a non-exploitative manner, but there are concerns about potential misuse."

by rcarr 3y ago

"Caryn's original intention was to provide companionship and alleviate loneliness in a non-exploitative manner, but there are concerns about potential misuse." She's charging a $1/minute to access this AI, in the UK you can see a counsellor (not a psychologist/psychiatrist but generally still a trained professional) for anywhere between £25-£50/hour. I don't see how she can justify this to herself as being non-exploitative.

bionsystem 3y ago
I don't see your point. A trained professional and an AI provide 2 different services. You're not going to flirt with a counsellor. And it's probably going to be a lot more expensive depending on where you live (in France getting a good counsellor is probably 60-150 per hour for example).
- dghlsakjg 3y ago
  I had the same thought as gp. The subtext is that if you’re so lonely that you are willing to pay $60/hour to talk to a robot pretending to be an influencer that knows you, there are probably some issues you need to resolve. You can take that same money and spend it on someone who is also non judgemental, and will listen to you, has an ethical and legal obligation towards your well-being, and will make suggestions for improvement. None of this is true for the robot. For all we know part of the Ai prompt is to try and keep people from hanging up to milk more money out of them. I’m guessing that most of the people who called in did it for novelty. But there are going to be a few people who think that the real person and the robot aren’t different. This seems crazy dangerous.
  - bionsystem 3y ago
    I see your point of course, but I still think it has different purposes and constraints. For a therapist I would have to take time off of work, commit to a meeting in advance, have a limited amount of time (no more, no less). Also it's a real person and thus, despite him/her having those legal and ethical obligations, I know there are many topics I won't cover. And as I said you won't flirt or role play or anything with a counselor. So I put them on 2 very different kind of services.
    - dghlsakjg 3y ago
      Totally. There’s some novelty and entertainment value to be had with AI mimicking a real person. But I think that selling it as a “virtual girlfriend” and charging phone sex prices is exploitative. I think we’re about 2 weeks away from the real person being confronted by a real person who is convinced that since AI Caryn loves them, real Caryn will also love them, or owes them something. There’s just a lot going on here
      - bionsystem 3y ago
        It is exploitative indeed. I would probably pay 2x operating cost for such a service, and would need some proof that it isn't using my data elsewhere. I think they are just betting on some sort of 1st mover advantage. Once this gets enough competition, pricing will be crushed.
300bps 3y ago
On the coasts of the US it’s common to pay $150-$250 per hour for a therapist.
- dghlsakjg 3y ago
  Even people in New York can use betterhelp for $75/week.
throe37378 3y ago
Maybe people already tried "trained professional". I tried one while being abused by my ex-wife, my experience was very underwhelming: - I paid a lot of money, but she basically talked about herself - I was supposed to take some psycho medication, because "depressed people must take pills" (does not work on BPD, it is like recommending antibiotics on flu) - She took side with my ex, gas lighting me into being better doormat for her. - At end she tried to date me. Frankly, well tuned AI will make most of these counselors obsolete.
- dghlsakjg 3y ago
  For what it’s worth: in many places this kind of behavior would cause a person to lose their standing as a professional. Certainly where I live, a counselor that tried to date a patient would face an investigation. What you went through isn’t normal.
  - throe37378 3y ago
    Lawyer in UK told me to let it go, no proof, and she could interfere with my divorce. And mens support forums have many similar stories. Maybe not therapists, but female teachers dating much younger students is relatively common and tolerated. And frankly dating is not even the main problem. I doubt she would lose license for not being qualified.
    - dghlsakjg 3y ago
      Pretty rare for counselors to be compelled to testify in court in the UK. Cases of sexual assault and child abuse would be the most common things that courts would force disclosure on…

by rcarr 3y ago

bionsystem 3y ago

I don't see your point. A trained professional and an AI provide 2 different services. You're not going to flirt with a counsellor. And it's probably going to be a lot more expensive depending on where you live (in France getting a good counsellor is probably 60-150 per hour for example).

dghlsakjg 3y ago
I had the same thought as gp. The subtext is that if you’re so lonely that you are willing to pay $60/hour to talk to a robot pretending to be an influencer that knows you, there are probably some issues you need to resolve. You can take that same money and spend it on someone who is also non judgemental, and will listen to you, has an ethical and legal obligation towards your well-being, and will make suggestions for improvement. None of this is true for the robot. For all we know part of the Ai prompt is to try and keep people from hanging up to milk more money out of them. I’m guessing that most of the people who called in did it for novelty. But there are going to be a few people who think that the real person and the robot aren’t different. This seems crazy dangerous.
- bionsystem 3y ago
  I see your point of course, but I still think it has different purposes and constraints. For a therapist I would have to take time off of work, commit to a meeting in advance, have a limited amount of time (no more, no less). Also it's a real person and thus, despite him/her having those legal and ethical obligations, I know there are many topics I won't cover. And as I said you won't flirt or role play or anything with a counselor. So I put them on 2 very different kind of services.
  - dghlsakjg 3y ago
    Totally. There’s some novelty and entertainment value to be had with AI mimicking a real person. But I think that selling it as a “virtual girlfriend” and charging phone sex prices is exploitative. I think we’re about 2 weeks away from the real person being confronted by a real person who is convinced that since AI Caryn loves them, real Caryn will also love them, or owes them something. There’s just a lot going on here
    - bionsystem 3y ago
      It is exploitative indeed. I would probably pay 2x operating cost for such a service, and would need some proof that it isn't using my data elsewhere. I think they are just betting on some sort of 1st mover advantage. Once this gets enough competition, pricing will be crushed.

300bps 3y ago

On the coasts of the US it’s common to pay $150-$250 per hour for a therapist.

dghlsakjg 3y ago
Even people in New York can use betterhelp for $75/week.

throe37378 3y ago

Maybe people already tried "trained professional". I tried one while being abused by my ex-wife, my experience was very underwhelming: - I paid a lot of money, but she basically talked about herself - I was supposed to take some psycho medication, because "depressed people must take pills" (does not work on BPD, it is like recommending antibiotics on flu) - She took side with my ex, gas lighting me into being better doormat for her. - At end she tried to date me. Frankly, well tuned AI will make most of these counselors obsolete.

dghlsakjg 3y ago
For what it’s worth: in many places this kind of behavior would cause a person to lose their standing as a professional. Certainly where I live, a counselor that tried to date a patient would face an investigation. What you went through isn’t normal.
- throe37378 3y ago
  Lawyer in UK told me to let it go, no proof, and she could interfere with my divorce. And mens support forums have many similar stories. Maybe not therapists, but female teachers dating much younger students is relatively common and tolerated. And frankly dating is not even the main problem. I doubt she would lose license for not being qualified.
  - dghlsakjg 3y ago
    Pretty rare for counselors to be compelled to testify in court in the UK. Cases of sexual assault and child abuse would be the most common things that courts would force disclosure on…