In the Age of AI, Much-Needed Protections in Mental Health Care

Artificial intelligence is already changing so much about the way we live, and important conversations are being had about what guardrails are needed to ensure the safe use of this technology. One of the most urgent of those conversations is happening right now in Colorado, as lawmakers consider House Bill 1195, a common-sense bill to protect people seeking mental health care from unknowingly receiving it from a corporately-owned machine instead of a trained professional human being.

“Artificial intelligence” can refer to various technologies, but this bill specifically addresses the use of popular AI apps like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Anthropic’s Claude, Google’s Gemini, and so on, for psychotherapy. These tools are advancing rapidly and are increasingly used in deeply personal ways, including for emotional support and mental health guidance. They have the potential to transform health care but also to do harm, which is why it is so crucial for lawmakers to pass HB 1195 this session.

One thing important to remember about these apps is they are highly profitable for their corporate owners, and there are no guidelines or guarantees of privacy or safety regarding any personal health information a user may share with them. Your personal health information is protected in health care settings by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). In contrast, any data you share with an app may be more out of your control than you realize. It may be retained forever in databases owned by entities that do not have your best interests at heart, used against you in a court of law, and, depending on regulatory actions that may or may not be taken in coming years, could end up belonging to anyone and used for any purpose.