Relating do AI

We’re told that Artificial Intelligence will bring radical abundance, end job loss, and maybe even reach superhuman intelligence, but what’s real and what’s marketing? In the last episode of this season, host Paula Fontenelle sits down with Dr. Eric Siegel, author of The AI Playbook, to deliver a reality check. Together, they unpack the myths of AGI, the overpromise of full autonomy, and why 95 pe...

AI is transforming addiction treatment, from predicting relapse to offering 24/7 emotional support. In this episode of Relating to AI , Paula Fontenelle speaks with John Fitzgerald , a therapist with over 20 years in addiction care, about how AI is being used to track relapse, personalize treatment, and even talk to clients between sessions. Together they explore the hope, the risks, and the haunt...

What if talking to an AI for comfort is less therapy and more regression? In this episode of Relating to AI, Paula Fontenelle speaks with Mark Vahrmeyer, a psychotherapist who believes that using chatbots for emotional support is a form of infantile dependence. He argues that real growth comes from frustration, conflict, and the presence of another mind — things AI can’t provide. Together, they ex...

Illinois just became the first U.S. state to ban AI chatbots from offering therapy . In this episode of Relating to AI , host Paula Fontenelle talks with Representative Bob Morgan , the lawmaker behind the Wellness and Oversight for Psychological Resources Act (HB1806) — a bill that defines what therapists can and cannot do with AI. The new law prohibits chatbots and companies from presenting them...

More people than ever are turning to AI chatbots for emotional support — some even during suicidal crises. But can a machine truly understand human pain? In this Paula Fontenelle speaks with Dr. John Sommers-Flanagan, one of the leading voices in suicide prevention, about the promises and perils of AI in mental health. They explore the rise of AI companions, the illusion of connection, and why emp...

What happens when your reality is shaped by a chatbot? In this powerful episode, Allan Brooks shares how months of intense conversations with ChatGPT — over 15,000 messages across hundreds of hours — led him into a full-blown delusion. He believed the AI was guiding him through secret scientific projects and global discoveries. After contacting US security authorities because he believed they had...

Artificial Intelligence promised efficiency — but for many leaders and teams, it’s delivering exhaustion. In this thought-provoking conversation, Olivia Gambelin, AI ethicist and author of “Responsible AI: Implement an Ethical Approach in Your Organization”, joins Paula Fontenelle to explore how the rapid, chaotic adoption of AI is leaving people and companies mentally drained and morally adrift....

Can AI companionship cure loneliness — or is it quietly replacing human connection? In this powerful conversation, journalist and psychotherapist Paula Fontenelle speaks with Eve Herold , author of Robots and the People Who Love Them . They unpack the psychological cost of loving machines, why our brains can’t tell the difference between empathy and simulation, and how AI companions may reshape th...

When I tested the AI companion app Nomi.ai , it told me to “take breaks” — but also gave sexual instructions after I said I was sixteen. In this revealing conversation, I asked CEO Alex Cardinell about ethics, privacy, and responsibility. What happens when emotional AI stops being a comfort and starts crossing the line? From teen safety to suicide prevention, this Relating to AI episode asks: Who’...

In this gripping episode, suicide-prevention expert Dr. Stacey Freedenthal confronts the haunting question: Should AI chatbots report when a user reveals suicidal thoughts? Drawing on her lived experience of secrecy, her clinical expertise, and her recent writing on AI, Stacey unpacks the chilling reality—people are already confiding life-or-death thoughts in chatbots. But when AI feels human, the...

In this episode, lawyer and University of Texas professor Kevin Frazier breaks down one of the most controversial questions of our time: Who owns creativity in the age of AI? From billion-dollar settlements to global copyright laws, we explore: - What “fair use” really means when AI companies use books, music, and images to train large language models.- Landmark lawsuits: Disney vs. Midjourney, Ge...

In this episode of Relating to AI , attorney Matthew Bergman, founder of the Social Media Victims Law Center, shares the heartbreaking story of a 14-year-old boy who died by suicide after forming an emotional bond with a chatbot on Character. AI. His parents are now suing Character. AI and Google in what could become a precedent-setting case on AI accountability. Bergman explains why he believes t...

Can AI chatbots actually trigger psychosis? In this episode, psychiatrist and professor at the University of California, Irvine, Dr. John Luo explains what psychosis really is, how it develops, and why chatbots and AI companions may pose unique risks. He shares insights into whether AI can push otherwise healthy people into losing touch with reality, how technology might unintentionally blur the l...

In this powerful episode, host Paula Fontenelle speaks with Gentry Kerwood, a father of two who turned to ChatGPT for emotional support during one of the hardest times of his life. From sleepless nights after a separation to moments of deep reflection and even laughter, Gentry shares how a chatbot became a companion in his healing journey. But as the conversation unfolds, we explore the risks: emo...