DEEPSEEK: Why Young Chinese Adults Are Turning To Their Homegrown AI Chatbot for Therapy
“DeepSeek has been such an amazing counsellor. It has helped me look at things from different perspectives and does a better job than the paid counselling services I have tried,” says an anonymous Holly, whose identity she asked BBC to protect.
DeepSeek is a Chinese generative AI Assistant, launched early this year in January that claims to supersede ChatGPT-level feedback — and is trained on resources that are a fraction of the cost other AI firms like ChatGPT used to develop their models.
For most AI consumers, it’s always about assistance with work, assignments, projects, ideas. But for the growing number of Chinese youth, DeepSeek is an AI that gives solace. Perhaps serving the purpose of its name ‘Deep’ ‘Seek’.
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The ‘Emotional Companion’
Before Guangzhou-based Holly Wang goes to bed every night, she logs on to DeepSeek for “therapy sessions.”
28-year-old Holly had recently lost her grandmother. She asked DeepSeek to write a tribute letter to her. She was mesmerized.
“You write so well, it makes me feel lost. I feel I’m in an existential crisis,” a fantastical Holly says in part of the chat.
“Remember that all these words that make you shiver merely echo those that have long existed in your soul. I am but the occasional valley you’ve passed through, that allows you to hear the weight of your own voice,” DeepSeek replies.
DeepSeek throws in a mental note when responding to emotional-related queries,
“My response should offer practical advice while being empathetic.”
Talking to BBC on Chinese social media platform, RedNote, Holly says,
“I don’t know why I teared up reading this. Perhaps because it’s been a long, long time since I received such comfort in real life. I have been so weighed down by distant dreams and the endlessness of work that I have long forgotten my own voice and soul. Thank you, AI.”
Chinese Communist Party blocked chatbot services from the West; ChatGPT and Gemini, meaning the citizens have to tunnel through Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) to discreetly access these services.
China’s local AI chatbots Baidu and Ernie 5 were outperformed by the globally popular DeepSeek upon its launch.
“DeepSeek can definitely outperform these apps in generating literary and creative content,” Wang says.
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The Counsellor
A business and management professor from the University of Southern California, Nan Jia — who also co-authored a research paper on AI’s potential in providing emotional support, suggested that the machines have a way of giving better emotional support than humans.
“Friends and family may be quick to offer practical solutions or advice when people just want to feel heard and understood. AI appears to be better able to empathise than human experts also because they ‘hear’ everything we share, unlike humans to whom we sometimes ask, ‘Are you actually hearing me?’” the professor says.
Experts think that the slow economy, rising unemployment rate and the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns pushed China’s population to the brink of seeking psychological counsel.
Altogether with China’s Communist Party that blocked all outlets for people to vent their frustrations.
Mental health awareness is a global issue, but in parts of Asia, it has been rather harshly quelled by government policies. Outsourcing it is almost criminal under some laws.
Another woman from Hubei province spoke to BBC admittedly saying she cried after “oversharing” her issues with DeepSeek. She had expressed disappointment using other AI models, but DeepSeek knocked her socks off.
On RedNote, she wrote,
“It was my first time seeking counsel from DeepSeek. When I read its thought process, I felt so moved that I cried.”
The woman who had wondered whether she was suffering a psychological condition by “oversharing” with family and friends, asked DeepSeek.
The chatbot responded by pointing out that her question might be rooted in her deep desire for approval.
“DeepSeek has introduced new perspectives that have freed me… I feel it really tries to understand your question and get to know you as a person, before offering a response,” she says.
Another user, a Human Resources manager residing from Shenzhen, John, told BBC that DeepSeek was like his voice of reason, a friend a deep thinker.
“I’ve found its responses very helpful and inspiring. For the first time I see AI as my personal sounding board.”
Coping with Times
A University of Hong Kong communications professor, Fang Kecheng observes that there is a shortage of professional psychological counseling in China. Those present are exorbitantly and “prohibitively” expensive for the people.
He notes that that the growing number of anxiety disorders and depression in China is attributed to the economic slowdown of the country — and rising unemployment rate, together with the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns.
Nan however, advised that people with serious mental health conditions should seek guidance from professionals and their interaction with these AI apps monitored. She said they should not rely on the apps.
“Those who have medical needs, in particular, should be seeking help from trained professionals… Their use of AI will have to be scrutinised very closely,” she says.
Conclusion
To Chinese nationals, DeepSeek acts like the substitute teacher who steps in for the main teacher’s role.
Other scholars though would disagree with this kind of use of technology. Most notably Donald A. Norman, in his book Emotional Design: Why We Love (Or Hate) Everyday Things, originally published in 2004 where he says,
“When machines display emotions, they provide a rich and satisfying interaction with people, even though most of the richness and satisfaction, most of the interpretation and understanding, comes from within the head of the person, not from the artificial system.”
With other users like John the HR saying the AI is proving to act like a sounding board, or a voice of reason, Don Norman would probably think this is only a chance to self-consciously hear your own “solace”.
Weaving technology this cutting-edge in nature with the intrinsic and often complicated human emotions, woven together, weirdly seems to evoke emotional satisfaction where it is lacking, at least according to some young people in The People’s Republic of China.
The Chinese Communist Party though has censored AI companies like DeepSeek from allowing their technologies to give “sensitive political” feedback, especially the 1989 Tiananmen Square student massacre.
When asked by BBC, DeepSeek said the information is “out of my scope”, among other issues in the political scene.
China’s AI chatbots have since time immemorial been politically gagged from disclosing such details. This is a common practice in geopolitics characterized by power dynamics.
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SOURCE: TRLT
Published by Magina
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