Joanna Stern Spent 1 Year Letting AI Handle Medical Results, Texts and Therapy
Updated
Updated · NPR · May 12
Joanna Stern Spent 1 Year Letting AI Handle Medical Results, Texts and Therapy
8 articles · Updated · NPR · May 12
A year-long experiment led tech writer Joanna Stern to use AI for reading medical results, drafting text replies and acting as a therapist.
Those everyday uses turned the test into a broader measure of how far AI can insert itself into personal decisions, communication and emotional support.
Stern said the most striking takeaway was an unsettling emotional attachment to the technology rather than just convenience or productivity gains.
Her account of the experiment is laid out in a new book, "I Am Not a Robot," extending the discussion beyond gadgets to human dependence on AI.
When AI provides perfect emotional support, do we lose the capacity for messy, real human connection?
With AI therapists failing ethical standards, who is liable when automated advice causes real-world harm?
As we offload our thinking to AI, are we trading convenience for our own cognitive decline?