4/5 (1) As the looming exam period draws near, university libraries are witnessing an increase in occupancy as students dedicate longer hours to dive into the vast sea of books, articles, and videos assigned by their coordinators. In the midst of this academic intensity, the stress levels of many students may be on the rise. It prompts an intriguing question: Can technology come to the rescue, helping young adults manage this stress and maintain their mental well-being? Furthermore, how do these applications integrate the capabilities of artificial intelligence (AI)? In this discussion, I’ll explore two categories of mental health apps: those centered on meditation and mindfulness and those offering therapies and chatbot interactions.

Meditation and Mindfulness:
One of the prominent players in this space is Headspace, a meditation and mindfulness app known for its guided meditation sessions, geared towards stress reduction and improved sleep. Headspace’s offerings also extend to topics as anxiety, stress, and personal growth. Impressively, Headspace claims that users experience approximately 32% less stress after 30 days of app use, with a 19% reduction in anxiety and a 29% decrease in depression after 8 weeks of consistent usage. Notably, the company recently acquired Sayana, a mental health application utilizing AI-driven chat-based sessions to encourage users to monitor their mood and its influencing factors. Leveraging this data, it personalizes the user experience and offers scientifically verified self-care exercises, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), and breathing exercises (Business Wire, 2022). I personally also have been using app for the last 2 years and would definitely recommend it to just take a step back and reflect on how you’re actually doing.

Another well-known player in this field is Calm, which shares a similar focus, offering meditation, sleep stories, and relaxation techniques.

Therapies and Chatbots:
For those seeking more direct interactions, Talkspace, 7 Cups, and Woebot represent distinct approaches. Talkspace connects users with licensed therapists for online therapy sessions, extending a wide range of therapy services that make mental health support more accessible. On the other hand, 7 Cups serves as a peer support platform, connecting users with trained listeners who provide emotional support and active listening, with the key distinction being the source of support and its accessibility.

Woebot stands out as a chatbot designed to deliver Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) techniques and support for individuals managing anxiety and depression. With the advancements in Large Language Models (LLMs) and artificial intelligence (AI), chatbot-based solutions are gaining popularity due to their accessibility and the fact that they don’t rely on a physical person to provide support. However, experts rightfully argue that this technology is still in its infancy and may not be capable of offering robust support (yet). Especially because of the sensitivity of mental health and its potential significant health risks attached.

I have not used any online therapies or chatbots (yet), since I’m more comfortable with talking to people in real life as it’s easier for me to feel the energy. However, I can definitely see the added value of 7 Cups since it’s less pressured than talking to a certified therapist and still different than talking to a chatbot (it just feels different when you know you’re talking to a chatbot).

Have you ever used any of these tools? Are you considering their use in the future to help manage stress and maintain your mental well-being during demanding periods?

No ratings yet. Having been part of the hype in glorifying capabilities made available through generative AI (GenAI) and even leveraging it in interview processes, something interesting came to my attention.

As I was attending a couple of events that would help me land a summer internship in finance (no worries, I’m not on the wrong forum), I overheard a conversation between two (junior) bankers. The statement discussed was “With the fast development of Artificial Intelligence and GenAI, our jobs will disappear in the next couple of years.”

My first thought was “Fair. Essentially, it’s mostly Excel models and Powerpoint slides, right? Same for consultants, but then what am I doing here?!” Luckily, there’s much more to it. Even though I still believe that AI will be able to create beautifully designed AND aligned powerpoint slides, there are a couple of things I believe it will not be able to achieve in the upcoming years.

When solely focusing on junior analysts, which in normal cases would exclude relationship building, M&A professionals deal with a very complex environment. Think about innovative financial structures that require creative thinking, nuanced legal and regulatory changes, and market sentiment (Lesselin, 2023). Even though it might be possible to predict the market with complex mathematics, unpredictable factors including behavioural psychology make it more challenging for AI to predict. Other important considerations also include reliability in making ethical decisions (e.g. ethical bias) when interpreting documents, and a lack or limited contextual understanding (Kotylak & Mikhaiel, 2023). May it be from a legal or operational standpoint. Keep in mind that GenAI runs on past data, so for M&A activities in newer industries and for companies with newer business activities, it might not be as reliable.

However, it also offers significant benefits for junior bankers. For example, doing basic work in valuation (e.g. an early estimation on enterprise value), gathering data from the virtual data room, and identifying, categorizing and extracting relevant information for due diligence. Especially when dealing with a bulk of data that is spread over countless resources, sometimes including unstructured data, it can save significant time to focus on input where true value can be created. Additionally, AI can create value in prediction calculations (e.g. for deal terms), contract management and data migration. Not that bad after all?

And who knows, maybe instead of working until 2AM, we can now go home around 10PM.

References:
Kotylak, D., & Mikhaiel, D. (2023, July 7). AI in the M&A context. Retrieved from Dentons: https://www.dentons.com/en/insights/articles/2023/july/7/ai-in-the-manda-context#:~:text=In%20the%20M%26A%20context%2C%20AI,form%20a%20more%20profitable%20entity.
Lesselin, T. (2023, June 13). How Is AI Going To Shake Up M&A? Retrieved from Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2023/06/13/how-is-ai-going-to-shake-up-ma/