Utah Legislature working on guidelines for artificial intelligence in mental health care

SALT LAKE CITY — Artificial Intelligence could be your next therapist. The Utah Legislature is looking at recommendations and ultimately deciding whether to create new laws and policies.

The director of the Utah Office of Artificial Intelligence Policy Zachary Boyd said several professionals already use AI in their practices.

“We don’t think that the industry’s really proven what the best approaches are going to be yet,” he said. “But we’re seeing lots of companies starting to go into this area and try things.”

He said the office has made three recommendations to the Utah Legislature on ways to make sure AI is benefitting mental health care, rather than detracting from it. The recommendations revolve around data security, safety guidance for professionals, and specific guidelines on how AI might overlap with licensed professional work.

“We’re certainly concerned about data privacy,” Boyd said. “AI can record and leverage some of the most sensitive data that exists in terms of our inner lives, so you want to make sure there’s adequate protection around that.”

According to Boyd, the office wants to ensure all of the proper safeguards are set up when it comes to AI and the mental health field.

“Mental health is a regulated profession for a good reason,” Boyd said.

Allessandra Harris-Gurr is a reporter for KSL NewsRadio.

Keep reading

• Can AI relate to us as a friend?
• Deepfakes fool more than half of Americans, UVU study shows
• Jeff Caplan’s Minute of News: An AI love story?
• What is real? AI, elections, and deepfakes