Post by New York University

Meet Emma, a 20-year-old woman who is navigating the resurgence of depression symptoms following a breakup with her boyfriend. She answers questions, and her responses vary. Sometimes she’s agreeable and sometimes she’s defensive—exactly as you’d expect from someone who is going through a hard time. But in this case, her behavior isn’t because of her pain—it’s just how she was coded. Emma is an AI program designed by NYU Silver School of Social Work clinical professor Nicholas Lanzieri and clinical associate professor Anne Dempsey to create immersive and realistic scenarios for students to gain counseling experience. The approach incorporates their clinical perspective with NYU Tandon School of Engineering faculty’s AI expertise and NYU Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development faculty’s experience with VR. We chatted with Steinhardt scientist Al Olsen about his part in creating Emma. Read more about the project: https://bit.ly/4cGp5uj 📹 : Video by Jonathan King

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