Using Chatbots and Conversational Agents for the Promotion of Well-being and Mental Health in Adolescents: Limitations and Perspectives.

Beatrice Tosti; Stefano Corrado; Stefania Mancone

doi:10.32043/jimtlt.v4i1.128

Autori

Beatrice Tosti Università degli Studi di Cassino e del Lazio MEridionale
Stefano Corrado Università degli Studi di Cassino e del Lazio Meridionale
Stefania Mancone Università degli Studi di Cassino e del Lazio Meridionale

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.32043/jimtlt.v4i1.128

Parole chiave:

Adolescenti, Benessere, Salute mentale, Chatbot, Agenti conversazionali

Abstract

L’adolescenza è un periodo dello sviluppo che porta con sé numerosi cambiamenti e criticità, che riguardano la sfera personale, sia fisica sia emotivo-psicologica, e la sfera sociale. Questi cambiamenti rendono maggiore il rischio di sviluppare problemi di salute mentale, per cui si rendono necessari interventi non solo di trattamento, ma anche e soprattutto di prevenzione, al fine di aumentare il benessere degli adolescenti e ridurre al minimo il rischio di insorgenza di disagi psichici. Tuttavia, molto spesso gli adolescenti sono riluttanti nel chiedere aiuto ad una persona adulta, ad esempio per paura che le loro confidenze possano essere riferite a terzi o per il timore di essere giudicati, per cui preferiscono non intraprendere un percorso terapeutico. Ciononostante, essendo i maggiori consumatori del cosiddetto mondo digitale, una strada promettente per la realizzazione di interventi per il supporto alla salute mentale è quella che passa attraverso il loro smartphone, mediante l’utilizzo di chatbot o agenti conversazionali. Queste piattaforme digitali utilizzano l’intelligenza artificiale per istruire reti neurali con conoscenze di base relative ai problemi di salute mentale, al fine di simulare la conversazione con un’altra persona e aiutarla nella gestione e nel supporto del proprio disagio psichico. In questo articolo verranno evidenziati i vantaggi e i limiti di questa tecnologia in termini di privacy, efficacia e sicurezza, al fine di promuovere uno sviluppo eticamente consapevole e responsabile.

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