In the modern world, artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming more and more commonplace, with more applications and more breakthroughs happening worldwide.
Often described as “computer-powered thinking” or “computer-generated thinking”, AI was designed to simulate human-like intelligence but being powered and computed by machines.
This has many different implications for different fields. For example, one of the most current developments at the time of writing is the improvement to chatbots i.e., AI that can supposedly hold and generate human conversation.
Other implications include in medical settings where AI is now being developed to treat and operate on a number of different medical conditions which have been treated by humans in the past, but simpler surgeries could instead be transferred to AI in order to free up surgeons’ time for more serious cases that AI cannot yet assist with.
So how can AI be used in the field of addiction, rehabilitation, and recovery? Addiction is a serious mental health condition with a wide range of effects, meaning the utmost of care is always required to suggest the most suitable and effective treatments.
Currently, research suggests that the areas of mental health in general that are implementing more and more AI-assisted programmes include psychiatry, various mood disorders, psychosis, and geriatric mental health care (1).
However, this only covers a small range of fields that could be assisted by AI, and only notes the most prevalent and common within certain areas of the world.
In general, the theoretical low costs and wide availability of AI programmes across the globe make it a perfect candidate for widespread improvement in the treatment of addiction, but there are some real-world implications that can significantly impact this.
Historically, and in most cases up until this point in history, addiction care and rehabilitation has been a solely human-lead process, making it an extremely personal and unique experience for individuals who progress through this type of care.
However, due to the nature of addiction treatment and recovery journeys across individuals, it may be considered unlikely that this feature of human-lead rehabilitation will be lost in comparison to that run by AI.
This is because everyone experiences addiction differently, requiring different levels and severity of care, as well as a variety of different forms of treatment in which to best support and guide the individual through their recovery.
Within each programme itself e.g., during individual therapy, an individual’s experience may be slightly different depending on whether this is guided by an AI or by a human, but this is not to say that this may be positive or negative without much further research.
During drug rehabilitation, an individual is often encouraged to think deeply and be completely open about their history with addiction, behaviours, struggles, mental health issues, and other personal factors, meaning that the experience often leaves individuals feeling vulnerable or uncomfortable in some cases.
Drug addiction is a difficult disorder to overcome, so we aim to make this as positive experience as possible for those engaging in treatment.
In these instances, we often assume that these individuals would seek the support of another human being i.e., the therapist or counsellor running their session.
However, is it impossible to believe that an AI may also be able to invoke the same feelings of support and active listening? Do we require that human touch?
This is something that is still quite a modern concept and perhaps something that has not been researched in as much detail as may be required before implementing it during therapy sessions.
In most research, the idea of ’empathy’ is reduced into many ‘computable’ concepts such as responsibility and justification (2), but this is debatable again as to its real-world implications.
Previously mentioned in this article, one of the most justifiable implementations of AI in the field of addiction recovery and rehabilitation is the use of the rapidly developing chatbots and similar programmes that simulate human conversation.
This could be used in settings such as therapy and counselling as a way to increase accessibility to this form of care.
Individuals would be able to access a therapy session from wherever they are in the world, as long as they had a suitable device and internet connection.
Though AI is not potentially up to this standard at this current point in time, it may be useful to assist some individuals who have long waiting times for therapy etc.
This would mean that they may be able to talk to a chatbot before they speak to a therapist, perhaps recording these conversations in order to give the human therapist more information before beginning treatment and further therapy.
AI develops over time, meaning that it learns from the different inputs, conversations, and information it receives.
This means that although AI may not currently be at a level where it may be beneficial for individuals to engage with as therapy, if trained correctly, this may be a possibility for future directions of AI implications.
“Training” in this instance refers to AI analysing and assessing what has been said in recordings of previous therapy sessions, as well as its presence in test situations, for example.
However, to get AI to this level, there may be many implications for individuals’ privacy and confidentiality within therapy sessions due to the presence of AI and its analysis of the situation.
This may be something that is included within consent for therapy sessions, but currently in time this is not occurring within regular therapy sessions, meaning that another approach may be taken such as creating ‘fake’ therapy reenactments though this also has implications for when it is used in real-world situations.
Though the topic of how AI could be implemented into addiction treatment and therapy has been discussed across this blog post, it is still important to detail specific examples from other areas of treatment that may not have been previously covered.
Four of these ideas for AI’s use have been detailed across the following subheadings.
With the processing power that AI can offer, humans can harness this to make programmes that analyse large quantities of data very quickly.
This could analyse the side effects and dangers reported by specific medications, for example, in order to highlight the most common risks and report this on a far more detailed basis.
This may also benefit by seeing which drugs and medications are reported to be the most effective and have the least side effects, perhaps drawing from other fields and other medications that are not typically used in the field of addiction.
In addition, the processing power that AI offers may also assist in preliminary screening and testing for addiction and its effects, meaning that suitable options for treatment and therapy may already be highlighted before a human can process the individual properly.
This could draw out unsuitable treatment types before the individual has spoken to anyone in person and speed up the entire process of being admitted or referred to specific treatment programmes.
This may include screening before entering a specific group therapy session, for example.
However, it is important that this is always ‘double-checked’ by a person before the individual actually begins any treatment.
AI is powerful, but still has a ways to go before its advice and decisions can be taken as the best possible option without question.
In terms of physical data and tracking, AI is also well-suited. This means that an individual could enter many different readings i.e., withdrawal symptoms during a detoxification session, which would allow them and medical/healthcare professionals around them to analyse their progress in a way that is more in-depth, detailed, and accurate.
This could also be done through the use of a wearable device or other wearable technology that tracks vital signs and other readings automatically.
This may also allow individuals to look back on their progress, perhaps including different ratings during therapy, for example, which would allow them to see how far they have come in terms of their journey to recovery.
As a final suggestion for the use of AI in addiction recovery and rehabilitation, it may be possible to improve the documentation and research when it comes to the field in general.
This could include general activities such as searching large databases for specific information and creating a report to reflect this, but also far more specific functions such as creating a treatment programme for an individual based on assessments and test results, for example.
Again, this practise should be undertaken with full human supervision as the results of AI are not at a level to be taken at face value and there are still many issues with false and outdated information that may cause more harm than good in many situations.
There are many future directions for the use of AI in addiction recovery and rehabilitation, so stay up to date on these developments to see which directions its development heads in next.
Rehab 4 Addiction has been helping individuals find the most suitable rehabilitation option for them for many years now, making our team of friendly and professional staff some of the most experienced and helpful in the field.
Speak to us confidentially for advice, referrals, or any questions you may have about addiction, whether you are struggling or know someone who is – we are always available to help.
No matter how serious or small the individual’s addiction struggles may seem, Rehab 4 Addiction is always here to help. Call us on 0800 140 4690 today to find out how we can help you or someone you know.
[1] Ray, A., Bhardwaj, A., Malik, Y.K., Singh, S. and Gupta, R., 2022. Artificial intelligence and Psychiatry: An overview. Asian journal of psychiatry, 70, p.103021.
[2] Srinivasan, R. and González, B.S.M., 2022. The role of empathy for artificial intelligence accountability. Journal of Responsible Technology, 9, p.100021.
Boris is our editor-in-chief at Rehab 4 Addiction. Boris is an addiction expert with more than 20 years in the field. His expertise covers a broad of topics relating to addiction, rehab and recovery. Boris is an addiction therapist and assists in the alcohol detox and rehab process. Boris has been featured on a variety of websites, including the BBC, Verywell Mind and Healthline. You can connect with Boris online at LinkedIn or X.com.
