The Wall Street Journal reports that mental health chatbots are replacing therapists without any scientific evidence behind them. The writer provides an anecdote about a psychology student, Eri Petherbridge, who sees a therapist three times a week. The therapist suggested she talk to a chatbot between visits.
Category: Artificial Intelligence and Healthcare
Wednesday Links – 1 July 2026
- In March … a surgical assistant in Dallas earned $50,456 through arbitration for a prostate removal operation. The surgeon, who accepted the patient’s insurance, earned $1,843. (NYT)
- “The surgery done 700,000 times per year is no better than a placebo surgery.”
- Drug economics: the marginal cost of one more pill is almost zero; but the marginal cost of treatments based on the sequencing of your individual genome can be quite high.
- “The general pattern … research points to is that many people don’t use the time they save using AI to do less; they use the time to take on new tasks.” (The Atlantic)
- This hospital has opted out of Medicare, charges market prices in its ER and turns patients away if they can’t pay. (Statnews)
WSJ: Real Doctors Don’t Approve of AI Doctors
The Wall Street Journal reported that the Utah medical board is concerned about a pilot project being conducted in Utah that allows an AI algorithm to renew prescriptions. The goal of the program is to increase access to care by boosting access to medications. Drugs are the most efficient way to treat illness. The American Medical Association, among others oppose using technology that could replace physicians with AI.
Thursday Links – 11 June 2026
- OpenEvidence’s A.I. app, essentially a chatbot for medicine, has become a viral hit with physicians. (NYT)
- Even some people with normal body weight by B.M.I. standards could be considered to have obesity.
- RFK Jr.: Make french fries great again.
- “Give us a ransom payment of $5,000 or we will harvest your son’s kidney and sell it.”
- This Ebola outbreak threatens to be the worst in history.