“A chatbot changed my life”

While AI chatbots may be just an interesting novelty for many of us, for some people they are proving to be transformative.

Yasmin Shaheen-Zaffar, from North Yorkshire, has dyslexia, dyspraxia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

As a result of these conditions, she would struggle with written assignments. Then AI entered her life.

“It was a few years ago that I was introduced [popular AI chatbot] Jasper, and it changed my life,” says Ms Shaheen-Zaffar, who is a qualified psychotherapist. “He became my friend.

She uses Jasper to help her clean up the structure and spelling of her writing, which now includes a recently published self-help book for people with neurodiversity.

The word is an umbrella term for conditions and disorders including dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADHD, Tourette syndrome and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).

London tech entrepreneur Alex Sergent says using artificial intelligence helps with his OCD.

He uses Otter.ai, an artificial intelligence-powered transcription app, to record and organize his meetings.

Mr. Sergent explains that while his extreme attention to detail and ritual has been a burden in the past, “he can feel comfortable delegating things. And for the most part, I’ve been doing that a lot lately with AI.”

The main reason people with psychiatric or psychological conditions may gravitate towards AI tools isn’t just simplicity, according to Hayley Brackley, neurodiversity coach and trainer.

“I think one of the biggest things is that there’s no shame or stigma in asking ChatGPT or any other AI tool to do something.

For example, he explains, there is an assumption that most people should be able to spell, which is particularly difficult for someone with dyslexia.

Ms Brackley, who herself suffers from dyslexia, ADHD and autism, says AI chatbots allow her to “outsource my challenge without having to explain too much why [to another human]”.

He adds: “The point is, if a crutch helps you walk and you have difficulty walking, why wouldn’t you use a crutch? So if AI gives you a mechanism to make the world of work easier for you, then there are plenty of arguments that say “let’s use it”.

Ms Brackley says that when working with companies and their neurodiverse employees, some firms are more open to implementing AI support tools than others.

Still, he adds, if AI is available to the entire workforce, then everyone benefits. “What happens is that we introduce something for a minority, but in the end it helps the majority without putting anyone at a disadvantage.”

While many of the tools now used by the neurodiverse community are mainstream AI products, some offerings are specifically made for them, such as a website and app called Goblin Tools.

Thanks to ChatGPT’s technology, users can do everything from creating to-do lists, creating more formal written sentences, checking to see if they’re misreading the tone of someone’s emails, getting an estimate of how long something will take, and even getting cooking tips. about how to turn a set of ingredients into a meal.

Goblin Tools was created by Belgian software engineer Bram De Buyser, who says it’s an ode to his neurodivergent friends.

“My friends have certain problems and needs, so I thought I could build something that would – if not completely help them – at least ease the struggle a little.”

Mr De Buyser says their website now gets 500,000 users a month. It is free to use while you have to pay to download versions of the app.

AI chatbots have also been created specifically for neurodiverse children, such as InnerVoice, an app created by California-based tech firm iTherapy.

Targeting children with autism, parents can help their son or daughter bring to life an object or person from the child’s life, such as a favorite toy or pet. This then becomes a talking avatar on your phone or computer screen.

Matthew Guggemos, co-founder of iTherapy, says that autistic children can often be more engaged on the computer than in the so-called real world around them. He adds that he sees AI being used more and more only to help the neurodivergent.

“I feel that AI can give neurodivergent people some additional tools and help them communicate with less effort if needed,” he says.