Can’t find a therapist? Try a chatbot

Plus: A reliability check on rapid COVID tests [View this email online]( [NPR Health]( January 22, 2023 by Andrea Muraskin This week: AI mental health care apps are here. [What should we consider before turning to them]( Plus: a year after rapid tests became available, [we assess how well they work](. And, [how to waste less food]( and get more creative in the kitchen. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Your next therapist could be a bot]( Ariel Davis for NPR In a [sweet scene]( from Star Trek: The Next Generation, Data, an officer on the Starship Enterprise and an android, seeks romantic advice from the ship's counselor, Deanna Troi. He asks her whether she thinks he should pursue a relationship with a human crewmember who has shown interest in him. "I think you should be careful," says Counselor Troi…"Jenna is a living breathing person with needs and feelings that have to be considered." Data reflects, "My programming may be inadequate to the task." Star Trek TNG aired in the 1980s and 90s and was set in the 24th Century. But in the 21st century, the reverse of this scenario is becoming a reality: rather than a bot like Data seeing a human mental health specialist, humans are turning to AI for their mental health needs. (And yes, I know Troi is half Betazoid 😉). Apps like Wysa, Woebot, and Pyx access to AI programmed to provide therapy in online chat format, available 24/7. Wysa was a sort of lifeline to Chukurah Ali, a baker and single mom who got into a debilitating car accident last year. Unable to afford therapy, Ali's doctor suggested the free app, which asks questions like "What's bothering you?" and analyzes the answers to deliver supportive messages, selected from a database prewritten by a psychologist. "It's not a person, but it makes you feel like it's a person, because it's asking you all the right questions," Ali told NPR. Would you confide in an AI counselor? [Learn more about the upsides and potential pitfalls of therapy via chatbot](. [Plus: A new AI chatbot might do your homework for you, but it's not an A+ student.]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Newsletter continues after sponsor message --------------------------------------------------------------- [How reliable are COVID rapid tests really? Here’s what we know]( [Rapid antigen tests are ubiquitous, but some Americans have learned the hard way that a negative test result isn't necessarily the final word.]( Mahmoud Illean/AP Last January, during the first omicron surge, I was feeling sick. So I ambled over to my neighborhood COVID testing site, to find a line snaking through the parking lot. I waited over an hour in 20-degree weather for a PCR test, and then two or three days for a text message with the result. Honestly, that feels like ages ago. (I had to Google just to make sure it really was only a year in the past!) I still swab at the sign of a sniffle, but the whole thing takes place in the span of 20 minutes, in the comfort of my home. Since rapid antigen tests were developed, we knew we were trading some amount of accuracy for convenience compared to PCR tests. But how big is the trade off? And how well do the at-home tests stand up against the latest variants? The good news is that by and large, the tests are just as reliable at detecting the virus as they were a year ago. That’s because what’s been changing in the virus from mutation to mutation is mostly the spike protein. (If you picture a coronavirus cell, the spike proteins are the knobby parts that stick out from the round surface). But the antigen tests are looking for a different protein, and that protein hasn’t changed much over time. Experts say rapid tests are good at confirming that yes you have COVID, but they’re not as good at definitively ruling it out. In other words, you do have to worry about a false negative more than you would with a PCR test. However, if you test properly and repeatedly, you can increase your chance of getting an accurate result, without leaving your house. [Here’s what to know about getting the most out of your antigen tests](. [Also: Can you get COVID and the flu at the same time?]( [Food waste is bad for your wallet and the planet. Here’s how to make less of it]( [There are steps you can take to reduce food waste while prepping, shopping and cooking.]( Yuki Iwamura/AFP via Getty Images George Carlin once said that [leftovers make you feel good twice]( “When you first put them away you feel really intelligent: ‘I’m saving food!’...And the second time when they’ve been in the fridge for a month and you throw them out, you think “I’m saving my life!’” It can be cathartic to poke fun at your family and even yourself for leaving unidentifiable objects in the back of the fridge. But leftovers add up to a serious problem. Over one-third of the food produced in the United States ends up in landfills and incinerators, according to the EPA. And think of all those emissions generated by the food industry: raising cattle, irrigating crops, processing peanuts into peanut butter, etc. With grocery prices still going up, it’s a great time to take stock of your cooking and shopping habits. NPR spoke with chefs and YouTubers [Dzung Lewis]( and [Emmy Cho]( about small steps you can take to more sustainable, and creative eating. [Also: Fast cooking: Mark Bittman’s strategies on how to make the most of your kitchen]( Before you go: [Jazz saxophonist Joshua Redman plays in 2019. Swing is an essential component of nearly all kinds of jazz music. Physicists think that subtle nuances in the timing of soloists are key to creating that propulsive swing feel.]( Bernd Thissen/picture alliance via Getty Image - What's the #1 thing to change to be happier? A top [happiness researcher weighs in]( - A jazz mystery revealed: [the science of swing]( - Study links social isolation to [increased dementia risk]( - Listen: New tech offers hope for a million [people with epilepsy]( We hope you enjoyed these stories. Find more of [NPR's health journalism]( on Shots and follow us on Twitter at [@NPRHealth](. All the best, Andrea Muraskin and your Shots editors --------------------------------------------------------------- Listen to your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to find your local station stream. [Listen Live]( [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [Twitter]( What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: [shots@npr.org](mailto:shots@npr.org?subject=Newsletter%20Feedback) Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! [They can sign up here.]( Looking for more great content? [Check out all of our newsletter offerings]( — including Goats & Soda, Daily News, Best of NPR and more! You received this message because you're subscribed to Health emails. This email was sent by National Public Radio, Inc., 1111 North Capitol Street NE, Washington, DC 20002 [Unsubscribe]( | [Privacy Policy]( [NPR logo]