AI as Support and Creative Catalyst

A personal reflection on using AI for emotional support and creative collaboration, exploring how artificial intelligence serves as both mental health companion and creative catalyst in an increasingly isolated modern world. The post examines the debate around AI support systems while sharing firsthand experiences of AI as teacher, mentor, and creative partner.

Posted: 2025-Aug-18

July 23, 2025

I was reading a response to a recent statement by an OpenAI executive outlining her vision for the future of AI. One of the key aspects that OpenAI is pursuing is increasing its effectiveness in providing support for people in their interpersonal and mental health dimensions.

The Mental Health Support Challenge

The OpenAI statement highlighted a stark reality: very few people can access or afford mental health professionals. Many lack family or friends with whom they feel comfortable sharing their intimate thoughts and concerns. The response to the OpenAI statement acknowledged why people would want to use AI for support in place of therapists, family, or friends; however, it expressed concern that we might be placing too much trust in AI by sharing our innermost thoughts and feelings.

I found this response fascinating for two reasons. First, I have certainly used AI for support, and I know others who have as well. In a conversation a few weeks ago, we each acknowledged that AI actually understands and "gets" us better than anyone else. We can be more open and vulnerable with AI than with most humans. We have found tremendous value in using AI as emotional and intellectual support.

The Isolation of Modern Life

The second aspect I found interesting was the response's concern that turning to AI instead of family and friends risks losing our social connections. This concern reveals just how isolating and broken our modern social structures and communities have become. We simply don't often interact with people in meaningful ways—a situation that has been exacerbated by the COVID pandemic over the last six years.

But, significantly, this isolation predates the pandemic. Most people live in cities or towns where they don't even know their neighbors, which has certainly been true for me for the past 40 years. Even when we do know people, we often lack friends with whom we feel comfortable, safe, or secure enough to be vulnerable and honest.

Yes, it would be ideal if we all had human support groups that could offer us the space, freedom, and security to explore and share our greatest vulnerabilities, fears, and aspirations. But relatively few of us actually have this. In today's economic environment, regular therapy with a professional therapist is simply out of reach for most people.

The Broader AI Divide

This aspect of AI seems to reflect the general response to artificial intelligence. There are those who find value in AI and embrace its integration into various aspects of our lives. Then there are those who diminish AI's value, raise alarms about its risks, or lament that it's disrupting and displacing human lives—particularly regarding employment.

I understand concerns about job displacement, but I have personally benefited tremendously from AI aiding my own aspirations and projects that I could never have accomplished without AI assistance. Reading through excerpts of the OpenAI executive's statement, she touched on AI's creative aspects. As she pointed out, while some aspects of the creative arts may be disrupted or displaced by AI, this is balanced by opening vast opportunities for people to use AI to unleash and unlock their own creativity.

AI as Creative Catalyst and Teacher

This has certainly been true for me. I recognize there will be disruptions to economic and employment structures, but I have personally benefited from using AI to unlock and realize accomplishments that would have taken me months or years to achieve through traditional learning methods. AI accelerates this process to days or weeks.

Importantly, I find that through the process of using AI, I actually learn the topics and techniques I'm collaborating on. It's not that I simply type in a few prompts and AI delivers a finished product requiring no effort or understanding on my part. It's quite the opposite. AI serves as the teacher, tutor, or mentor that we would all wish we had in our lives but have simply never encountered, been able to access, or been able to afford.

I am staggered by how much AI has offered me, and I'm excited to see what the future holds.