Why Schools Are Using a New Chatbot to Help Support Students

Summary

WSJ Tech News Briefing: Why Schools Are Using a New Chatbot to Help Support Students
Hosted by: Charlotte Gartenberg, The Wall Street Journal
Release Date: February 26, 2025

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1. Green Aviation in the Trump Era

Overview:
In the current political climate, President Trump's endorsement of Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (EVTOL) vehicles has injected momentum into the green aviation sector, particularly benefiting air taxi companies. However, the broader landscape of zero-emission aircraft development faces significant challenges, including technological hurdles and shifting industry sentiments.

Key Discussions:

• EVTOL Momentum:
  Charlotte Gartenberg opens the discussion by highlighting President Trump's advocacy for EVTOLs, aiming to outpace China in this emerging market. This political support has led to a notable rally in air taxi stocks, although these have since stabilized after peaking during the 2021 SPAC boom.

• Major Players and Challenges:
  John Cindreou, Herd on the Street columnist, provides an in-depth analysis of the current state of green aviation. He identifies Jovi Aviation and Archer Aviation as the two leading US companies successfully navigating the market despite recent setbacks in the sector.

  "The fact that the administration seems friendly to them has made these stocks skyrocket recently."
  — John Cindreou [02:15]

  Despite their progress, these companies still face rigorous FAA certification processes. Cindreou notes,

  "We're talking about aircraft that have to fly no matter what the weather is... It's very complex."
  — John Cindreou [03:39]

• Setbacks and Industry Sentiment:
  The optimism around EVTOLs contrasts with the decline in broader zero-emission aircraft initiatives. Cindreou points to failures like Germany's Lilium and Volocopter, attributing these to technological limitations and waning industry enthusiasm.

  "Battery technology is still in its infancy and it's progressing very linearly."
  — John Cindreou [04:28]

  Additionally, major aerospace players like Airbus and Boeing are retracting their support for EVTOL projects, signaling a shift in focus away from green vertical flight solutions.

Insights and Conclusions:

While political backing has temporarily buoyed certain segments of the green aviation industry, widespread adoption of EVTOLs remains uncertain. Technological challenges, coupled with a retreat from green initiatives by key industry players, suggest that the future of zero-emission aviation may be less bright than initial enthusiasm indicates.

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2. AI-Powered Chatbots Supporting Student Mental Health

Overview:
Facing a shortage of school counselors, particularly in low-income and rural districts, schools are increasingly turning to AI-powered chatbots to provide mental health support to students. Sonar Mental Health's chatbot, Sunny, represents a hybrid model combining artificial intelligence with human oversight to address this critical need.

Key Discussions:

• Functionality of Sunny:
  Julie Jargan, WSJ Family and Tech columnist, explains that Sunny operates as a hybrid system where AI interacts with students while human professionals monitor and guide these interactions.

  "It's part AI, part human... humans have learned from that how to tailor their responses to the teenagers."
  — Julie Jargan [06:51]

  The chatbot is designed to resonate with teens by using appropriate language and emojis, such as preferring the melting face emoji over smiley faces.

• Development and Deployment:
  Sunny was developed by Drew Barvier, a Stanford Graduate School of Business alumnus, aiming to bridge the gap in mental health services for young people. The system utilizes large language models trained in cognitive behavioral therapy techniques to effectively engage with students.

  "They built it on several different large language models... to understand when a teen might be in crisis."
  — Julie Jargan [08:13]

• Current Adoption:
  As of the episode's release, Sunny is deployed in nine school districts, serving approximately 4,500 students. These districts often lack adequate mental health resources, making Sunny a crucial tool for early intervention.

• User Feedback and Impact:
  Feedback from students indicates that Sunny provides a non-judgmental space for sharing personal thoughts, which may contribute to reductions in disciplinary issues and improvements in academic performance, though causality remains to be fully established.

  "Students feel like this is a sort of a judgment free zone... some schools have seen a drop in student disciplinary problems."
  — Julie Jargan [10:13]

• Potential Risks and Concerns:
  Despite its benefits, concerns persist regarding data privacy and the adequacy of AI in handling complex mental health issues. Privacy policies state that data is deleted after 60 days, but the risk of data breaches remains a critical issue.

  "Data privacy is always something that's a concern... having personal information out there is always a risk."
  — Julie Jargan [09:37]

  Additionally, there is apprehension that reliance on chatbots might deter students from seeking professional therapy, potentially overlooking deeper mental health challenges that require human intervention.

  "Therapists say that can an AI really understand if a student is experiencing depression, anxiety or other mental health issues?"
  — Julie Jargan [10:57]

Insights and Conclusions:

Sunny represents a promising solution to the mental health support gap in schools, offering accessible and immediate assistance to students. However, the effectiveness of such AI-human hybrid models hinges on addressing privacy concerns and ensuring that the chatbot complements rather than replaces professional mental health services.

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Final Thoughts:
The episode of WSJ Tech News Briefing delves into two significant areas of technology's impact on society: the evolving dynamics of green aviation amidst political and technological challenges, and the innovative use of AI to support student mental health in educational institutions. Both topics underscore the complex interplay between technological advancement, human oversight, and societal needs.

Transcript

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[Charlotte Gartenberg]

Switch upfront payment of $45 for 3 month plan equivalent to $15 per month Required intro rate first 3 months only, then full price plan options available, taxes and fees extra. See full [e-mail] welcome to Tech News Briefing. It's Wednesday, February 26th. I'm Charlotte Gartenberg for the Wall Street Journal. Does Flying Green Matter in the Trump Era? The President's endorsement of EVTOLs or electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles is giving a boost to one green aviation industry. But beyond the top air taxi players, zero emission aircraft development is falling by the wayside. We'll hear about what green vehicles are going up and which might be coming down then. It can be hard for teens to open up, particularly if there aren't enough counselors in school districts. WSJ family and Tech columnist Julie Jargan explains why some schools are turning to a human AI chatbot for students in need of mental health support. But first, President Trump and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy have said that the U.S. must win the EVTOL race with China. Their statements have helped a couple air taxi stocks rally, but a wider view of green aviation looks less bright. Here to tell us about it is our Herd on the street columnist John Cindreou. John, let's start by talking about those in green aviation that are seeing some blue skies. Who are the major players there right now and and how's it going for them?

[John Cindreou]

There's many types of zero emission aircraft that companies, startups and even bigger aerospace firms are trying to develop. The one that caught a lot of attention back in 2020, 2021 with the blank check spac boom that Wall street was going through and all that whole meme stock craziness were the air taxis. It's this idea that you'll hop onto this kind of electric mini helicopter that will take you to your restaurant or stuff like that. There is a case that some of these vehicles could replace helicopters and they would be green. The two big companies in the US that actually managed to list through these vehicles and are still going strong today are Jovi Aviation and Archer Aviation. These companies, even though as we will discuss now, there's been Many failures of green aviation startups recently. They're still bringing in investor money, and they're still inching closer, theoretically, to certifying their aircraft with the faa, which is not an easy thing to do. The fact that the administration seems friendly to them has made these stocks skyrocket recently. Since the election, they've gone up a lot. One must remember that they came down a lot from their 2021 peaks, but they've recovered significantly. The fact that the Trump administration has come with a wind of change when it comes to everything related to esg, green investing, all this kind of stuff is out of favor. Ultimately, it's probably worse for them than any sort of favorable inclination of the administration or any promise to make it an easy regulatory environment for them.

[Charlotte Gartenberg]

So we're not making the connection that rallying stocks is going to mean we'll soon really see EV tolls take to the air.

[John Cindreou]

It's possible. Joby, for example, they've been at it for many, many years, far before they spacked. And they've done more than 100 test flights with a pilot. And these companies are starting to get results and get closer to maybe something that could be feasibly certified. But one has to remember that it's very complex. We're talking about aircraft that have to fly no matter what the weather is, aircraft that have to keep some battery life in reserve in case something goes wrong. Right now, what the FAA said is that they'll have to keep 20 minutes of flight time in reserve, which is better than they thought they were getting. They thought they were getting 30. So it's possible, but else we are seeing a lot of failure.

[Charlotte Gartenberg]

Let's talk about that. There are some other players in the field right now. What's going on with them and what are the roadblocks that they're facing?

[John Cindreou]

When we brother the lens, we see a lot more failures, including with evetol companies, particularly in Germany. We had two big ivtol companies, Lilium and volocopter. Especially in the case of Lilium, there is definitely a big technological component to why it's failed. The company sent an email just a few days ago saying that it's almost certain that it won't be rescued from insolvency. One has to remember that battery technology is still in its infancy and it's progressing very linearly. So it takes many years, right, for the range to increase. And also if you want to fly one of these vehicles, you have to remember going from vertical to horizontal is very complicated, and it takes a lot of energy. There's also a sentiment element to this green flying used to be cool, now it's out of fashion and you see it with Airbus canceling their own evetol project. For example, Boeing absorbed a company they were backing called Wisk, and it's still to be seen what will happen to it. So it really feels like the whole zeitgeist of the industry is changing.

[Charlotte Gartenberg]

That was heard on the Street Columnist John Sindhriu Coming up, the counselor is not in, but the AI powered well being companion is Can a hybrid chatbot help with student mental health in schools? That's after the break.

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[Charlotte Gartenberg]

Sonar Mental Health the developer of an AI powered well being companion named Sunny is rolling out its hybrid model to school districts which are struggling to meet student demand for mental health services. Our family and tech columnist Julie Jargan is here to tell us more. Julie, how does this chatbot work?

[Julie Jargan]

So unlike most chatbots, which are AI, only this one is a little bit different. It's part AI, part human. As much as the AI learns from human interactions, the humans that are in the mix are also learning from the AI how best to communicate with teens. There are people with backgrounds in psychology, social work and crisis line support who monitor all of the chats with students. And they can insert themselves and edit the chats or write their own responses if they want to. And the AI learning from prior interactions with teens has discovered ways that seem to resonate most with teens about communication. For example, they've learned that teens don't really like smiley face emojis. They prefer things like the melting face emoji. And they've lear talking to teens across the country. What types of local vernacular resonate most with teens in certain geographic areas? So the humans have learned from that how to tailor their responses to the teenagers that they're communicating with and who developed it. So it was developed by Drew Barvier, an alumni of Stanford Graduate School of Business while he was at Stanford. He and another fellow classmate at Stanford developed this. They wanted to provide something that would fill in the gaps in mental health care which are considerable when it comes to young people especially.

[Charlotte Gartenberg]

How was the chatbot built?

[Julie Jargan]

They built it on several different large language models, and then it was trained in certain psychological techniques like cognitive behavioral therapy by a team of clinicians who have background in mental health services so that it can ask the right types of questions to teens and understand when a teen might be in crisis.

[Charlotte Gartenberg]

So kids are already interacting with Sunny. Now, how widespread is the use of this hybrid chatbot?

[Julie Jargan]

So it's currently in use in nine school districts across the country, and there are 4,500 students that have this available to them in those nine school districts. And a lot of these districts are in low income and rural areas where there's a shortage of mental health services in general. And then of course, at the school level as well, with a shortage of school counselors. This is supposed to be something that doesn't replace humans, but when there aren't enough people for students to talk to, that this is something that could catch issues early on. And then, you know, if students are in need of mental health support as identified by the AI and the humans that are a part of this, or they're talking about self harm, that they can flag that to the correct people and intervene and get help before there's a crisis.

[Ryan Reynolds]

So.

[Charlotte Gartenberg]

And our CEO Drew Barvier told you that he makes it clear to schools and students that Sunny isn't a therapist and the bot frequently encourages kids to talk to the humans in their lives. So, Julie, what are some of the potential risks?

[Julie Jargan]

There's always privacy risks with things like this, especially when you've got young people who are providing what could be very sensitive personal information. Sonar says that in its privacy policy that once a student closes out their account, they retain the data for 60 days and then delete it. And that parents and students can request to have any chats deleted at any time. But data privacy is always something that's a concern. In a situation where there could be hacking or something like that, having personal information out there is always a risk.

[Charlotte Gartenberg]

So how is Sunny going? What are users saying about it?

[Julie Jargan]

From the people I talked to, they said that they've gotten positive feedback from students that students feel like this is a sort of a judgment free zone where they can share their obsessive thoughts that might annoy their friends, that they can talk about the same problems that they're ruminating on over and over again. And Sunny is not going to tell them to stop, that it's always there to listen and steer them kind of in the right direction. Some of the schools I talked to said they've seen a drop in student disciplinary problems since they began using this. Others have said they've seen an increase in grades. It's still early days to get the results, and whether it's related to this chatbot or something else, but there's been generally positive feedback from the students who've used it.

[Charlotte Gartenberg]

What kind of concerns do people have.

[Julie Jargan]

About the bot when you talk to therapists? There's a concern that even though this isn't meant to be a replacement for therapy, that some students who might benefit from therapy just won't go that route because they feel like this is it, I've got someone to talk to and they won't take that extra step to have a face to face interaction. Therapists say that can an AI really understand if a student is experiencing depression, anxiety or other mental health issues? Unlike in a face to face interaction where a therapist can gauge body language and kind of take some of those nonverbal cues to understand how a student might be struggling and that could be missed by AI.

[Charlotte Gartenberg]

That was our family and tech columnist Julie Jargan. And that's it for Tech News Briefing. Today's show was produced by Jess Jupiter with supervising producer Kathryn Millsap. I'm Charlotte Gartenberg for the Wall Street Journal. We'll be back this afternoon with TNB Tech Minute. Thanks for listening.