Search arXiv⌕ Search

arXiv · 2501.10374

Artificial Intelligence in Mental Health and Well-Being: Evolution, Current Applications, Future Challenges, and Emerging Evidence

Abstract

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a broad field that is upturning mental health care in many ways, from addressing anxiety, depression, and stress to increasing access, personalization of treatment, and real-time monitoring that enhances patient outcomes. The current paper discusses the evolution, present application, and future challenges in the field of AI for mental health and well-being. From the early chatbot models, such as ELIZA, to modern machine learning systems, the integration of AI in mental health has grown rapidly to augment traditional treatment and open innovative solutions. AI-driven tools provide continuous support, offering personalized interventions and addressing issues such as treatment access and patient stigma. AI also enables early diagnosis through the analysis of complex datasets, including speech patterns and social media behavior, to detect early signs of conditions like depression and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Ethical challenges persist, however, most notably around privacy, data security, and algorithmic bias. With AI at the core of mental health care, there is a dire need to develop strong ethical frameworks that ensure patient rights are protected, access is equitable, and transparency is maintained in AI applications. Going forward, the role of AI in mental health will continue to evolve, and continued research and policy development will be needed to meet the diverse needs of patients while mitigating associated risks.

Explore related subjects

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

Hari Mohan Pandey. 2024-12-13. Artificial Intelligence in Mental Health and Well-Being: Evolution, Current Applications, Future Challenges, and Emerging Evidence. https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.10374

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related papers

Frontier Lag: A Bibliometric Audit of Capability Misrepresentation in Academic AI Evaluation

LLM evaluations in applied domains tend to reflect models that were already outclassed at time of publication. We observe a publication elicitation gap: the distance between the AI systems generating the results reported in an academic paper and the AI systems that a current reader of that paper would reasonably assume are being referenced. We systematically sweep OpenAlex from 2022-01-01 to 2026-04-01 (n = 112,303 LLM keyword matches). Then, we identify what models were evaluated (n = 18,574 admissible records). We then rank each evaluated LLM against a frontier LLM based on the Epoch AI Capabilities Index (ECI), an aggregate LLM capability score. At time of evaluation, the median paper is evaluating models that are behind frontier LLMs in capability, with a median gap of +10.85 ECI (H1; n = 12,312). This gap is growing, increasing at a rate of +5.53 ECI per year (H2, nominal 95% CI [+5.03, +5.83]). The sign holds even in the absence of any imputation for evaluation date. In papers (n = 728) where the date of evaluation is explicit and the model in question can be resolved to an ECI score, the median gap for H1 is +5.01 ECI. An explicitly stated evaluation date can be found in only 18.4% of full-text papers. After correction, in 52.5% (95% CI: [48.2, 56.9]) of abstracts in our audit, conclusions are stated at the class level ("AI") rather than the model level. For papers about reasoning models, only 3.2% of abstracts and 21.2% of full-text articles disclose the reasoning mode status of the models used (H4). We propose a solution to this problem that is distributed among authors, editors, and funders. First, reporting from authors. VERSIO-AI v1.2 is a proposed 13-item checklist to cover the configuration surface described herein. Second, enforcement from journal editors and peer reviewers. Third, conditioning grants on disclosure and providing API access.

cs.CY↗

The Cross-Section of Stock Returns and AI Exposure

We study 380 trillion tokens of realized AI consumption across more than four hundred LLMs. We build a high-frequency AI factor and show that a long-short strategy based on firms' AI exposure earns significantly positive returns. The average strategy return is larger based on intensive, frontier-oriented AI consumption but smaller based on casual or open-weight usage. Internationally, the return spread is significant in developed countries but insignificant in emerging markets. Examining occupational AI exposure, we find more positive exposure in occupations intensive in nonroutine interactive tasks and more negative exposure in those intensive in nonroutine analytical tasks.

cs.CY↗

The queer Hero versus the Fool bias of the queer trait: An archetypometric analysis of the collective portrayal of queerness in fictional stories

Visibility in media is pivotal for identity development and for broadening societal views of gender and sexuality. Queer representation has increased in recent years, yet damaging stereotypes and tropes persist. Here, we focus on queer portrayal and its perception by audiences in fictional stories (television, film, and literature) by studying characters by their quantified archetypes which are operationalizations of common conceptions such as Hero, Diva, and Outcast. We use the archetypometrics and Fandom's LGBTQIA+ datasets to study samples of fictional characters along the trait differential spanning straight to queer. We find, quantify, and explain a seeming paradox. The characters with the highest queer score present positive primary archetypes and are typically Heroes rather than Fools, Angels rather than Demons, and Adventurers rather than Traditionalists. But evaluation across many stories for the straight-queer trait itself reveals a strong collective-writing bias towards Fool (away from Hero) and no meaningful loading for the other two dimensions. Our analysis offers a population-scale view of the complexities of queer portrayal, while also pointing to risks in blindly training on many-authored story corpora.

cs.CY↗