More than half of South Koreans classified as having severe depression have used artificial intelligence-based counseling programs, a survey showed Tuesday.
The usage rate stood at 53 percent among those categorized as severely depressed, nearly double that of respondents who were not depressed (27 percent) and higher than those who were mildly depressed (41 percent), according to the survey by the Gyeonggi Research Institute.
The survey was conducted on 1,012 residents of Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province. Of the respondents, 11 percent were classified as severely depressed, 19 percent as mildly depressed and 70 percent as not depressed.
Researchers said the findings suggest that individuals experiencing more severe psychological distress tend to avoid in-person counseling, making AI a viable alternative.
Respondents rated the advantages of AI counseling, with accessibility receiving an average score of 3.38 out of 5, followed by 3.31 for “not having to worry about negative perceptions of others.”
When asked about concerns regarding depression counseling, cost ranked highest at 28.4 percent, followed by stigma at 20.6 percent.
Among all respondents, including those who had not used AI counseling, 77 percent said they would be willing to use AI to address personal issues.
Based on the findings, the institute recommended establishing AI-based systems to complement existing counseling services, while using administrative big data to identify and support vulnerable groups at the early stages of mental health conditions.
minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com
