\u201cI didn\u2019t have a running coach. I didn\u2019t have running background,\u201d says the Sardinian living in Cork.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was very specific. I said: \u2018I\u2019m a complete beginner. Never ran in my life. I usually do weightlifting three or four times a week, and I want to stick to it, but I have a half marathon in six months. Can you create an achievable plan for me based on my goals?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
The detailed plan laid out by the bot, powered by large language model (LLM), worked for the 26-year-old; she has since completed two half marathons, shaving 15 minutes off her personal best in Galway last October. <\/p>\n
Zedda is one of the estimated 150-200 million daily users of ChatGPT<\/a>, which handles more than a billion queries each day. <\/p>\n It is now the fifth most visited website in the world after Google, YouTube, Facebook and Instagram, according to web analytics firm Similiarweb. <\/p>\n Zedda says she uses ChatGPT to help her \u201cclarify\u201d her ideas.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you\u2019re a very busy person and you have all these goals, you put a lot of pressure on yourself so sometimes using ChatGPT helps me clarify my ideas,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n \u201cI bounce them off a tool that I know is able to summarise what I\u2019m thinking and show me which fears are blocking me from achieving my goals\u201d. <\/p>\n She sees the technology as empowering and, if used correctly, as helping individuals \u201cachieve things that you would never have thought possible\u201d.<\/p>\n Sometimes, Zedda uses specific prompts so that the chatbot uses a professional tone, asking ChatGPT to speak to her \u201cas a cognitive psychologist\u201d would. <\/p>\n Other times she asks for it simply \u201cto be nice\u201d. <\/p>\n \u201cI find it very helpful if there\u2019s something that upsets me. Let\u2019s say I get a message that I don\u2019t like and I feel a bit triggered,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n \u201cBefore I text back, I explain to ChatGPT how I\u2019m feeling and how this message is triggering me, and I paste the answer that I was going to write down and I ask: \u2018Does this feel reasonable?\u2019 It helps me balance my answer.\u201d<\/p>\n The AI bot has helped her \u201cavoid a lot of arguments\u201d, she adds, laughing.<\/p>\n Although Zedda finds it useful, she says that she would not rely on it as a mental health<\/a> support, seeing it more as a \u201clife coach\u201d than a therapist.<\/p>\n \u201cI went to therapy so I know what benefits a therapist can give me, and I know how important a therapist is.\u201d<\/p>\n Others use chatbots differently.<\/p>\n Their use as a replacement for therapists due to their accessibility is of increasing concern among mental health professionals in Ireland and abroad. <\/p>\n In the US, Maria and Matthew Raine have taken a lawsuit against OpenAI<\/a>, the owner of ChatGPT, and its chief executive Sam Altman<\/a>, alleging that the bot contributed to the suicide of their 16 year-old-son Adam. <\/p>\n In the legal action, the family included chat logs between Adam and ChatGPT in which he detailed his suicide thoughts. The couple argue that the chatbot validated his \u201cmost harmful and self-destructive thoughts\u201d.<\/p>\n Nicola Byrne, chief executive of mental health charity Shine, says that in Ireland \u201cit would be unrealistic to ignore the fact that people are already using these tools in their daily lives, including in relation to mental health\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cAny responsible discussion about AI and mental health must be clear that these tools are not clinicians\u201d she says. <\/p>\n She adds that we \u201cmust not allow technology to quietly replace properly resourced, human-led services\u201d. <\/p>\n \u201cAI tools, including large language models, are not healthcare and must never be positioned or used as a substitute for professional mental healthcare, clinical assessment or human support,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n She points to the difference between what she describes as \u201clow-risk, practical uses\u201d and \u201cuses that are clinically inappropriate or potentially harmful\u201d and says that \u201cused cautiously, and with a clear understanding of the limits of these tools, [ChatGPT] sits closer to information-seeking or self-management than treatment\u201d.<\/p>\n Examples of what she considers to be appropriate uses are \u201corganising routines, setting medication reminders, journaling or asking general questions after receiving a diagnosis from a qualified professional\u201d. <\/p>\n \u201cWe have serious concerns about AI being used as a form of emotional support, therapy or meaning-making around symptoms. The risks are particularly acute for people living with psychosis or severe mental illness,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n The acute risks posed to those living with psychosis are because \u201cthese systems cannot reality-test, exercise clinical judgment or safely challenge beliefs, and they can inadvertently reinforce distress or delusional thinking,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n \u201cThat is not a theoretical risk.\u201d<\/p>\n Byrne says she is aware that \u201cpeople often turn to AI because it is accessible and non-judgmental, especially when services are stretched\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThat reflects gaps in care, not the suitability of the technology,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n The increased use of ChatGPT comes against the backdrop of the chatbot\u2019s owner attempts to sell its virtues to the Government and encouraging greater use of its technology<\/a> in a country where, it claimed, usage was lower than elsewhere. <\/p>\n In a meeting at Government Buildings last May, Sarah Friar, OpenAI\u2019s chief financial officer, told Taoiseach Miche\u00e1l Martin about developments in AI technologies in recent years and according to a note of the meeting: \u201cThere was a discussion on the opportunities and potential use-cases of generative Al, including in healthcare and education\u201d.<\/p>\n [\u00a0ChatGPT strikes a sour note with German musiciansOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n During the meeting, details of which were disclosed under the Freedom of Information Act, Friar told Martin that ChatGPT use is lower in Ireland, noting that \u201c28 per cent of the population in Ireland is using ChatGPT weekly, compared to 50 per cent in the best countries\u201d, according to a note of the meeting.<\/p>\n![\"Claudia](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/SGU5MFQOC5EMJCOSBGDQJD7NSY.jpeg\")
Claudia Zedda <\/p>\n
![\"Prof](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/7MI2XGMIVNAFTDEFBQ2YPGBBJM.JPG\")
Prof Brendan Kelly says people will use ChatGPT and other LLMs when other services are delayed or deficient. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw<\/p>\n