My project speculates on how a culturally attuned AI chatbot can be ethically designed to bring awareness to local in person therapy resources for racialized people. This is in the form of an app, with an AI chatbot named Eri. In the app, "Eri" is programmed to provide Culturally Adapted Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CA-CBT) exercises based on a therapy worksheet from Positive Psychology, before recommending in person therapy resources through links in the chat. The purpose of the activities is therapy practice as a first step before getting recommendations for in person therapy. The resources vary from general mental health ones to ones for students and a few specifically for black women, as well as another page with recommended community organizations. Based on my racial identity, I highlight Black people as an example of a future user because of the current tech biases and systemic barriers that exist amongst people of color. The project’s core contribution is a bounded ethical AI system for therapy awareness.
Included in the project is a narrative short film that speculates on what the Eri technology could be like in the future of 2029 for racialized people with me as a user. The film highlights the current issues that the female Black user experiences regarding therapy and using AI chatbot technology for free therapy. It concludes with showing how “Eri” can be a future solution through explaining its functionalities. The purpose of the short film is to summarize the entire thesis project into a visual medium and highlight why a racialized person would use this system. The app and the short film come together to reimagine AI usage for therapy, through an ethical design project where AI is used for therapy awareness, not therapy.