More than 2,400 Kaiser Permanente mental health providers in Northern California have just concluded a 24-hour strike. One of their central concerns resonates with anyone working in an industry being disrupted by AI: the fear that artificial intelligence could replace their jobs.
Kaiser has reassured that AI is not taking away jobs from therapists. The company told NPR it does not use AI to make medical or care decisions. But workers say the changes they are already seeing tell a different story.
Licensed clinical social workers are being pulled from triage and replaced by unlicensed staff following scripts or apps handling patient assessments online. Therapists see this as a stepping stone toward AI-driven care.
Is AI actually replacing therapists?
Not yet, according to psychologist Vaile Wright, senior director of health care innovation at the American Psychological Association. In an interview with NPR, she says no AI solution currently exists that can replace human-driven therapy or mental health care.
Where AI is being used, it’s mostly handling paperwork. Think billing, updating health records, and other administrative tasks that eat into a therapist’s day. That’s arguably a good thing, giving healthcare providers more time to focus on patients.
Should you be worried about the AI tools your provider might be using?
Dr. John Torous, a psychiatrist and director of digital psychiatry at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, notes that many AI tools entering mental health care are promising but not yet thoroughly tested.
Some tech companies are already building AI chatbots for patient triage and assessments. With little regulation in place, Torous says mental health practitioners need to stay ahead of the curve, learning how these tools work and pushing back on ones that aren’t safe or effective.
The nurses who joined the strike share those concerns. Katy Roemer, a Kaiser nurse, put it plainly in her AP interview: “Is AI going to benefit patients? Is AI going to benefit the people that work for Kaiser Permanente? Or is AI going to benefit the bottom line of the corporation?”
We recently saw Microsoft launching Copilot Health and Perplexity entering the health market with its own Perplexity Health offerings. It’s clear that AI is here to stay, and it will disrupt most industries. The question is whether health systems will use it to genuinely support patients, or simply cut costs.