Can AI make us happier?

Want a good result? Trust in AI  

Tell a chatbot like Swedish Flow or Woebot about yourself, or let them track your actions and movements. Ginger uses phone sensors; MindReset detects non-verbal signs of stress. Predictix Digital provides advice on personal or telemedicine appointments. SAM tracks anxiety levels and helps to anonymously contact a support community.

Apps can remind you to take antidepressants (Iodine’s Start), help you master deep breathing (Breath2Relax), or explain complex psychological processes in simple terms (Brain Profiler).

AI can apply cognitive behavioral therapy. The Moodpath App asks questions three times a day, changing them depending on the answers, and then offers recommendations. Catch It allows to better understand your mental state by keeping a diary, helping to change thinking and behavior patterns.

MoodKnight analyzes social media posts to make a diagnosis. The Wisdo application is a whole social network which allows to share experiences and worries to get support and useful advice from those who have struggled with similar problems.

Anxiety or depression can be tracked by stress markers

BioSelf Technology’s pebblestone-shaped Sensate collects data on heart rate and respiration, temperature and mood. NeuralDx’s EVestG technology analyzes deep brain function to identify biomarkers for mental and neurological disorders. Cortisol levels in sweat can be determined with a sensor invented by the California Institute of Technology.

Heart rate variability can be monitored by using a Lief patch. In stressful situations, the patch vibrates to help you relax and breathe more calmly. Apple Watch, Garmin Vivosport bracelets and TouchPoints have also learned to vibrate.

Digital headsets and helmets from various films about the future have become the technology of non-invasive neuromodulation in the present.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, sales of headsets that stimulate the frontal lobes of the brain with a weak electric current, created by the Swedish company Flow, have increased by 247%.

Weak electrical impulses stimulate the cerebral cortex and help improve the condition of patients with various mental problems such as depression. This is how the BrainsWay helmet, the Relivion system and the MINDD headset from the Korean brand YBrain work. The NeoRhythm headband applies magnetic neuromodulation method to relieve stress, help to tune in to work, sleep or meditate.

The reality is virtual, but the therapeutic effect is real.

AR and VR devices are used in art therapy, exposure therapy, with their main advantage being the multisensory approach.

Mental Fitness Healium enhance one’s mental state: biometric data from wearable devices change the space around the user depending on their state of mind. The Psious platform is loaded with more than 70 scenes designed to treat all types of phobias. Blue Room from scientists of the University of Newcastle works in a similar way.

The VR game Deep, when used together with an Oculus Rift headset, allows moving underwater using diaphragmatic breathing. The process is close to meditation. Liminal’s Joy app invites to sit and chat with characters from cartoons around a campfire.

Telemedicine is in demand

Sales of the Korean startup Atomers operating the Mind Cafe platform grew by 1,120% in Q1 2021, compared to the same period in 2020.

Deciding to go on an online appointment is easier than contacting a psychotherapist in person. Recent surveys of users of Cloud 9, Talkspace platforms indicate that remote therapy helps to establish contact with a specialist even faster and more effectively.

Remote monitoring technologies are also under active development. They allow tracking the condition of patients between therapy sessions, collecting and analyzing clinical data using AI. Platforms (such as Montfort’s new EncephaLog app) and sensors with built-in sensors such as WiGait help evaluate drug efficacy and track disease progression.