Panel on "Artificial agents for psychotherapy"

Panel on "Artificial agents for psychotherapy" Conference

Hudlicka, E, Lisetti, C, Hodge, D et al. (2008). Panel on "Artificial agents for psychotherapy" . SS-08-04 60-64.

We have outlined a number of questions that should be addressed as we explore the emerging research and practice area of agent-augmented virtual environments for psychotherapy. The questions addressed theoretical, technological and 'cultural' challenges, the latter referring to issues of acceptance of these technologies by the clinical community. The panelists' statements discussed progress toward some of these goals. The panelists also discussed a broad range of issues that need be explored, to establish both the development guidelines for synthetic therapeutic agents, and the evaluation and validation criteria for their effectiveness. We should emphasize that we are not suggesting that synthetic agents should replace experienced clinicians. However, existing research indicates that humans can, and do, establish affective relationships with agents (e.g., Brave & Nass, 2003), and it is on this premise that the potential of these technologies in psychotherapy should continue to be explored. Copyright © 2008. Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (www.aaai.org). All rights reserved.