Abstract

The recent years have witnessed the precipitous emergence of Artificial Intelligence as well as their media coverage, from Midjourney claiming the crown for an art contest to ChatGPT eliciting global ferment. While not as vastly powerful as their cinematic counterparts (e.g., the emergent capabilities of the AI-powered serial killer doll M3GAN or the latest slasher reboot of Chucky in 2019), the disparate ways by which AI models can transform lived experiences around the world cannot be downplayed, especially in the regard of psychiatric healthcare. As a historically marginalized community, neurodivergent individuals are continually confronted with societal stigmatization and health-related struggles. Healthcare costs in the form of formal diagnoses, therapy, and medication fees pose a major roadblock for said group. This begs the question of whether AI could serve as a power tool in the betterment of access to the diagnosis and treatment of non-neurotypical people, specifically those with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Through the lens of psychological concepts and mechanisms–metacognition, theory of mind, and procedural learning–this paper will give an informative exposition and discuss the various possibilities in using AI models for the purpose of detecting and aiding in symptom alleviation of those with ASD.

Keywords: ASD, ChatGPT, AI, Mental Health, Diagnosis and Treatment

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