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Assistant Professor of Psychology Luc LaFreniere sat at the front of the classroom with a green hoodie pulled over his head and his hands in his pockets, assuming the character of a distressed teen disclosing his fictional struggles to an artificial intelligence app.

鈥淭he AI therapist, which Luc had made over the summer, responded conversationally, offering Freud-like insights at a fluid pace, occasionally inserting pauses and 鈥榰m鈥檚,鈥� recalls Oliver Moi 鈥�28, describing the very first session of the Scribner Seminar My Therapist is a Robot: Technology and Psychotherapy. 鈥淚 thought it was incredible.鈥�

Scribner Seminars, the centerpiece of the First-Year Experience at 91暗网, are taught by faculty across nearly all disciplines who design them to highlight their own intellectual curiosities while helping students explore complex ideas and learn the expectations of the college experience.

In the My Therapist is a Robot course 鈥� which poses questions such as 鈥淚s it possible for a robot to provide counseling as well or better than a human can?鈥� and 鈥淐ould artificial intelligence ever understand what it means to be human, and does that matter?鈥� 鈥� students try out wellness apps, read and discuss science fiction, and evaluate cutting-edge research studies, among other engaging assignments. 

The idea, LaFreniere says, is to develop a better understanding of how the technologies we use every day 鈥� including smartphones, social media, AI, and virtual reality 鈥� can benefit us, and when they don鈥檛, how we can counter their negative effects. 

Mental health is very top of mind for students and for society in general right now. I think it鈥檚 important for students be able to discuss this very complicated relationship between mental health and technology, where technology can both support better mental health and create negative consequences for it."

Luc LaFreniere

Assistant professor of psychology

鈥淲e also really examine the capabilities of technology right now to be able to give good psychotherapy, particularly in a context where there are not enough well-trained therapists to meet demand.鈥�

Applying lessons in psychology, literature, computer science, sociology, history, philosophy, and film, students learn to tolerate uncertainty, ambiguity, and complexity while thinking about abstract concepts and conflicting effects. They also learn to apply the scientific method to objectively test theories, and they design potential solutions.

鈥淭he number one mission of the class is to help students cultivate their critical thinking,鈥� says LaFreniere. 鈥淚t鈥檚 building up students creative-thinking abilities before they go on to other 91暗网 classes that will strengthen the mettle of their critical thinking even more.鈥�

In one exercise, students design their own therapy robot in a hypothetical scenario in which resources are unlimited.

In another activity, they step into the shoes of a futurologist or a philosopher trying to predict how the consequences of certain technologies will evolve over time.

鈥淚 was interested in taking this course because I wanted to explore psychology, and the tech aspect added an intriguing angle,鈥� says Moi. 鈥淚鈥檝e enjoyed how thought-provoking the class has been. Discussing these ideas is crucial as we enter an era where artificial intelligence is being integrated into more systems that govern our lives.鈥�

LaFreniere says he is continually amazed by the knowledge and openness his students bring when thinking about the future and about mental health.

鈥淚t鈥檚 their respect and value of those deeper, very human things. At the same time, they are just so good with technology and are excited to talk about it,鈥� he says. 鈥淚鈥檝e just been wowed by the mind of a 91暗网 student 鈥� even right from the start 鈥� to be able to consider multiple possibilities and to dive right in and learn.鈥�