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Dialogue safety remains a pervasive challenge in open-domain human-machine interaction. Existing approaches propose distinctive dialogue safety taxonomies and datasets for detecting explicitly harmful responses. However, these taxonomies…
Mental health concerns are rising globally, prompting increased reliance on technology to address the demand-supply gap in mental health services. In particular, mental health chatbots are emerging as a promising solution, but these remain…
Large language model-powered chatbots have transformed how people seek information, especially in high-stakes contexts like mental health. Despite their support capabilities, safe detection and response to crises such as suicidal ideation…
Large language models (LLMs) are increasingly used for mental-health support; yet prevailing evaluation methods--fluency metrics, preference tests, and generic dialogue benchmarks--fail to capture the clinically critical dimensions of…
Objective: Domestic abuse cases have risen significantly over the last four years, in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the challenges for victims and survivors in accessing support. In this study, we investigate the role that chatbots…
The conversational nature of chatbots poses challenges to designers since their development is different from other software and requires investigating new practices in the context of human-AI interaction and their impact on user…
People experiencing severe distress increasingly use Large Language Model (LLM) chatbots as mental health support tools. Discussions on social media have described how engagements were lifesaving for some, but evidence suggests that…
Artificial intelligence chatbots have achieved unprecedented adoption, with millions now using these systems for emotional support and companionship in contexts of widespread social isolation and capacity-constrained mental health services.…
In collaboration with Postpartum Support International (PSI), a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting caregivers with postpartum mood and anxiety disorders, we developed three chatbots to provide context-specific empathetic…
Models trained on large unlabeled corpora of human interactions will learn patterns and mimic behaviors therein, which include offensive or otherwise toxic behavior and unwanted biases. We investigate a variety of methods to mitigate these…
Recent advances in natural language processing and machine learning have led to the development of chatbot models, such as ChatGPT, that can engage in conversational dialogue with human users. However, the ability of these models to…
As digital tools increasingly mediate mental health care, self-clone chatbots can offer a uniquely novel approach to intra-personal exploration and self-derived support. Trained to replicate users' conversational patterns, self-clones allow…
Demand for mental health support through AI chatbots is surging, though current systems present several limitations, like sycophancy or overvalidation, and reinforcement of maladaptive beliefs. A core obstacle to the creation of better…
As emotional support chatbots have recently gained significant traction across both research and industry, a common evaluation strategy has emerged: use help-seeker simulators to interact with supporter chatbots. However, current simulators…
Many people suffer from mental health problems but not everyone seeks professional help or has access to mental health care. AI chatbots have increasingly become a go-to for individuals who either have mental disorders or simply want…
Previous researches on dialogue system assessment usually focus on the quality evaluation (e.g. fluency, relevance, etc) of responses generated by the chatbots, which are local and technical metrics. For a chatbot which responds to millions…
Millions of users turn to consumer AI chatbots to discuss mental health and behavioral concerns. While this presents unprecedented opportunities to deliver population-level support, it also highlights an urgent need for rigorous and…
Emerging reports of the harms caused to children and adults by AI sycophancy and by parasocial ties with chatbots point to an urgent need for safeguards against such risks. Yet, preventing such dynamics is challenging: parasocial cues often…
Recent studies show the effectiveness of interview chatbots for information elicitation. However, designing an effective interview chatbot is non-trivial. Few tools exist to help designers design, evaluate, and improve an interview chatbot…
Companion chatbots offer a potential solution to the growing epidemic of loneliness, but their impact on users' psychosocial well-being remains poorly understood, raising critical ethical questions about their deployment and design. This…