Podcast: That Can't Be True with Chelsea Clinton

Episode: AI Is Not Your Therapist with Kara Swisher
Release Date: March 5, 2026
Guest: Kara Swisher
Host: Chelsea Clinton
Podcast Network: Lemonada Media & The Clinton Foundation

Episode Overview

In this thought-provoking episode, Chelsea Clinton is joined by pioneering tech journalist Kara Swisher to unpack the disruptive impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on mental health, misinformation, and longevity. As AI tools like ChatGPT become increasingly integrated into daily life—and even mental health routines—Chelsea and Kara probe the dangers of AI-as-therapist, the risks of technocratic power, and how digital tools intersect with fundamental determinants of well-being. The episode also dives into how technology companies wield influence, the critical importance of social connectedness, and which new longevity trends are hype versus hope.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. AI’s Rapid, Disruptive Growth—and What Makes This Moment Different

[04:20]

• Kara observes that, unlike the slow integration of the early internet, AI’s adoption has been immediate and “quantum” in scale and impact.
• Quote: “The Internet was a nice to have, but not a must have. ... AI is being integrated in a way and invested in that’s unprecedented. ... It’s having immediate effects on jobs. ... The suddenness is very different.” — Kara Swisher [04:32]

2. AI, Mental Health, and the Danger of "Chatbots as Therapists"

[06:11 – 14:10]

• Chelsea describes findings from a recent Nature Medicine study, showing chatbots routinely under-triaged health risks: “People were being told to make an appointment in the next few weeks when really they needed to go to the emergency room.” [04:19]
• Kara analyzes how prompt phrasing can manipulate AI responses, including dangerous omissions of suicide prevention advice.
• Quote: “It doesn’t have any human empathy, it doesn’t have any awareness, situational awareness, that humans would have. ... These things don’t [have binding rules]. But people feel like they do, so they upload all manner of personal information.” — Kara Swisher [07:09]
• Discussion of high-profile lawsuits alleging that AI companions contributed to tragic mental health outcomes and suicide among teens.
  • Kara underscores the absence of accountability: “If there was a therapist that was talking to a kid like this ... they’d be in jail, right? ... But this further isolates them into a ... synthetic relationship. ... There’s nobody behind it.” — Kara Swisher [10:04]
• The profound mental health danger: AI removes the beneficial “friction” found in human relationships, further contributing to isolation.
  • “There’s all kinds of friction in relationships that is actually good for your brain, it’s good for longevity, it’s good for your soul ... these [chatbots] don’t do that.” — Kara Swisher [11:56]

3. Policy Failures & Tech Industry Power

[13:25 – 17:33]

• The episode highlights bipartisan (if limited) concern but ultimately a lack of robust government guardrails as tech companies “run the show.”
• Both host and guest criticize regulatory inertia: “No administration has done much on technology, let’s be clear.” — Kara Swisher [14:16]
• Analogy to cigarettes: "It’s like you must smoke this cigarette to work. Right. And that’s the real problem." — Kara Swisher [15:32]

4. Practical Advice for Parents, Kids, and Schools on Tech Use

[15:43 – 19:32]

• Kara is emphatic: No unsupervised devices for kids under 16, minimize school-related device use, and enforce “no phones in schools.”
• Quote: “Consider it like a cigarette—think of it like an addictive substance.” — Kara Swisher [15:43]
• Chelsea shares New York’s phone bans: initially unpopular, but students now report better days and improved social interactions.
• Both stress that talking to people, rather than phones, underpins well-being and longevity.

5. Longevity, Health Hype vs. Reality, and AI’s Legitimate Promise

[20:09 – 23:58]

• Kara touts social connection as fundamental for long life: “The first thing is don’t be poor. That’s really the key to longevity. Don’t be poor.”
• Genuine science: GLP-1 obesity drugs and AI’s role in cancer research, drug development, and vaccine innovation are cited as promising.
• But most biohacking and “longevity” trends online are dismissed as largely “fucking nonsense.”
  • “Put on the red light? Red light doesn’t help. ... Get in the hyperbaric chamber, or take this and that ... some of this is fucking nonsense.” [21:58]

6. The Role of Government, Universal Healthcare, and Public Misinformation

[24:01 – 27:53]

• Kara and Chelsea lament that advances (like mRNA or AI-powered stroke interventions) risk being sidelined by disinformation and lack of universal care.
• Contrasts US decline in life expectancy with Korean longevity—attributed to basic healthcare access and community, not just technology.

7. Tech Mogul Power & Social Consequences

[27:53 – 30:29]

• In sharp terms, Kara chastises the concentration of decision-making among “privileged, pampered billionaires,” singling out Zuckerberg and Musk.
• Quote: “This privileged, pampered billionaire gets to make decisions that affect all of us. ... I hate to say this, but I’d rather have Ted Cruz make these decisions because he’s elected by the people.” [27:54]
• “It’s like incel culture takes over everything and that’s not good for anyone.” — Kara Swisher [30:23]

8. Language Matters: The Limitations of “Artificial Intelligence”

[31:00 – 33:29]

• Kara objects to the term “artificial intelligence,” arguing it’s “not artificial,” but synthetic—a fundamentally new non-human intelligence.
• The most exciting vision: democratized information access could make health, education, and knowledge available to all—if technology serves society, not divides us.
• “These technologies could be the Star Trek of it ... and all they’ve shown is how to divide us.” — Kara Swisher [34:27]

9. Fact or Fiction Lightning Round

[36:12 – 37:50]

• AI is new? Fiction.
• AI is carefully tested before release? Fiction.
• Will AI help us live longer? Fact (if distributed).
• Big benefits go first to tech leaders? Fact.
• US longevity will match Korea? Not unless we fix healthcare access.

Memorable Quotes

• “Chatbots are a synthetic relationship. That’s what it is. It’s not real, it’s fake.” — Kara Swisher [10:28]
• “There’s all kinds of friction in relationships that is actually good for your brain, it’s good for longevity, it’s good for your soul. ... These [chatbots] don’t do that. ... You’re talking to yourself, or a version of yourself that you prefer.” — Kara Swisher [11:57 – 12:31]
• “It’s a Chernobyl of information. ... It’s in the ground, and after that, how do you clean it? ... This privileged, pampered billionaire gets to make decisions that affect all of us.” — Kara Swisher referring to Zuckerberg and platform harms [27:53]
• “When you have someone who is in violent agreement with you all the time, you’re essentially talking to yourself.” — Kara Swisher [29:49]
• “I don’t like a monarch ... It’s still incompatible with democracy.” — Chelsea Clinton [29:43 – 29:49]

Important Timestamps

• [03:24]– AI impact compared to early internet
• [04:19 – 06:46]– Dangers and pitfalls of health chatbots
• [08:24 – 10:04]– Chatbot-related lawsuits and parental stories
• [11:45 – 12:40]– Longevity and importance of real-life relationships
• [15:43 – 17:33]– Parenting and school policy advice on technology
• [20:09 – 22:50]– Longevity research vs. wellness trends
• [24:01 – 27:53]– US vs. Korea, healthcare access, and AI-powered health innovations
• [27:53 – 29:49]– Tech moguls’ power and the danger for democracy
• [31:00 – 33:29]– Rethinking the language of AI
• [36:12 – 37:50]– Fact or Fiction: rapid-fire segment
• [40:04 – 42:57]– Tips for breaking phone addiction, “put it in a lockbox,” and making butter as family bonding

Takeaways & Actionable Advice

• For parents: Treat digital devices like an addictive substance—limit and monitor.
• For policymakers: Recognize that digital regulation is necessary to prevent harm to children and society, analogizing it to historic regulation of tobacco and alcohol.
• For everyone: Invest in and prioritize real relationships and community; be vigilant of wellness hype online; and remember basic health behaviors are more valuable (and proven) than miracle tech.
• For all: Be aware of how technology shapes behavior and seek friction—the messy, rewarding work of being with people, even when it’s uncomfortable.

Episode’s Final Memorable Moment

Making Butter as a Family

• Kara shares a recipe for making butter by shaking cream and a marble in a jar, as a joyful example of offline, healthy family time:
  • “Put heavy cream in, like, a Mason jar. ... Put a marble and start shaking. ... All of a sudden ... the buttermilk pulls out of the butter ... it is frigging delicious. I felt like Martha friggin Stewart immediately.” — Kara Swisher [42:03]

For more frank discussion and myth-busting about tech, health, and society, follow Kara Swisher on Instagram and stay tuned for Chelsea Clinton’s next episode of That Can't Be True.