by Mark D. Lerner, Ph.D.
Chairman, The National Center for Emotional Wellness
AI-Integrated Emotional Wellness (AIEW)—the broad interface of the cognitive abilities of artificial intelligence (AI) and human emotion—is evolving. During this exciting time, I enjoy consulting with the AI community and sharing innovative AIEW strategies and techniques.
One area where this integration shows tremendous potential is developing positive self-statements, a technique that can help people foster their emotional well-being.
Positive self-statements, or affirmations, are phrases we say to ourselves to increase adaptive, healthy thinking and replace maladaptive, unhealthy thinking. These statements have demonstrated diverse benefits, including decreasing stress, increasing healthy behavior, enhancing immune function, reducing pain, improving cardiovascular health, improving academic performance, and more. (Psychology Today, 2020; Healthline, 2020)
Positive self-statements are a powerful tool to help us manage challenges and change—and improve our emotional wellness and the quality of our lives.
AI systems can integrate positive self-statements to provide immediate support for users. Following are ten examples of positive self-statements that the AI community can consider:
• “Great job!”
• “You’ve got this!”
• “I love you, [user name].”
• “You nailed it!”
• “You’re doing better and better.”
• “Stay focused.”
• “You’re innovative.”
• “You’re a problem-solver.”
• “You gave that your all.”
• “Be the way you would ideally like to be.”
Positive self-statements align with the basic tenets of evidence-based cognitive behavioral therapeutic (CBT) modalities. Users can learn to talk to themselves in a positive, reinforcing, and compassionate manner. They feel better about themselves and make healthier, more adaptive life choices as a result.
AI leaders and the workforce should turn to experts in emotional wellness to understand the complexity of human emotions and how machines can interact with users' feelings. Ethical considerations such as privacy and data protection, transparency, and explainability, as well as avoiding bias and discrimination, can guide the design of AI systems.
As AI continues to develop, AIEW strategies and techniques offer invaluable mechanisms where AI systems can address the complexity of human emotion and foster emotional wellness.