Can It Ease Loneliness? Testing the Popular AI Mental Partner for Men
A while ago, there was a discussion about how middle-aged men in Japan are the loneliest in the world. It has been pointed out by Western media that middle-aged men have no friends, but among them, statistics show that Japanese middle-aged men are even more isolated.
A reporter from our magazine is a typical lonely middle-aged man in his 50s and single. Although he doesn’t feel particularly lonely, he has been feeling increasingly down lately, which is somewhat troubling. There are no specific issues like work or interpersonal problems (though there are minor ones), but he finds himself feeling depressed for no apparent reason and tries to distract himself with alcohol.
Despite feeling gloomy every day, he doesn’t experience physical fatigue or inability to work, so going to counseling seems excessive. In such a situation, he heard about the “AI Mental Partner.” This AI is supposed to listen to worries and complaints and provide companionship. He immediately contacted Shinichiro Ogawa, the CEO of Awarefy Inc., which develops and operates the AI Mental Partner “Awarefy,” to learn how to use it (all comments in quotation marks are from Ogawa).
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“Psychotherapy is a method that involves changing one’s thoughts and behaviors through dialogue rather than medication. ‘Awarefy’ is an app that helps users practice this psychotherapy by interacting with AI and expressing their feelings in writing, thereby improving their mental condition. The service is characterized by its combination of psychological theories such as cognitive-behavioral therapy and mindfulness with AI.”
So, what does this look like in practice?
“For example, there’s something called journaling. It’s a simple technique where you write down whatever comes to mind. When done on your own, you just write and that’s it. In counseling, however, you might receive advice on thinking patterns and habits. While AI might not be as detailed as a human counselor, it does provide feedback on what you’ve written, making it easier to objectively view your state and thoughts.”
One of the convenient aspects is that AI can listen to you anytime, anywhere, even with topics that might be difficult to discuss with a counselor. For someone like me, who feels somewhat depressed, going to counseling might seem excessive, so having such an option is very helpful.
