PsyBot
A three-minute short film
What if therapy is provided by robots instead of human therapists?
PsyBot is a captivating short film that explores the relationship between Sarah, a young girl, and her robotic psychologist named PsyBot. Designed as a solution to the challenges inherent in the current therapy system, PsyBot uses cutting-edge machine learning technology to provide its users with personalized help that adapts to their individual needs. The data collected from each patient is meticulously stored and later shared with human psychologists, offering a unique opportunity for collaboration between the worlds of artificial intelligence and human psychology.
Duo project
Duration: 4 weeks
My roles: Adobe premiere video-editor, Co-writer, Co-producer, Videographer, Reaper audio-editor
Grade: 7.5/10
In the past year, 18% of the Dutch population was diagnosed with a mental disorder. Studies have revealed that therapy only proves to be effective for a third of these individuals. This issue can be attributed to the use of inexperienced professionals by mental health organizations, leading to a reduction in waiting times. Unfortunately, this has resulted in an increase in the number of suicides since 2007. It is imperative that these individuals receive prompt and adequate assistance to reverse this disturbing trend.
After doing research about this problem and the concept of therapist robots we came across a few interesting things. Robot therapy is already being applied in the present day and a number of experiments have already been carried out. Positive and negative conclusions have been drawn from this. Like a dependency risk attached to the robot. It also turned out that the need for human contact decreased in people with autism even more. These negative sides are discussed in the film. It is important to make people think carefully about the consequences of a concept in sensitive sectors.
To enhance the viewing experience, we chose to use a stationary camera positioned outside the main room in the film. This perspective offers a voyeuristic glimpse into Sarah's life, allowing the audience to witness her growing reliance on PsyBot. Ultimately, this dependency leads to PsyBot being taken away, providing a poignant conclusion to the film.
Download the project spread here (Dutch)