Slingshot AI's chatbot study lands with a thud

The cat's outta the bag: People are already using LLM-based chatbots like therapists whether it's a good idea or not. Nevertheless, companies building customized therapy chabots must still convince critics their bots are safe and effective.

To that end, a new preprint about Slingshot AI's therapy chatbot Ash offers some of the first evidence about the safety and benefits of the app. In a 300-participant clinical trial, Slingshot claims, the app helped drive improvement in depression and anxiety symptoms as well as in other measures of wellbeing. The company also says the app passed a rigorous safety evaluation and that Ash's safety guardrails worked 100% of the time.

But not everybody's convinced. Experts told me that while the work represents an important step forward in studying mental health LLMs, the study has numerous limitations. It doesn't prove anything. And the safety tests were are not as comprehensive as Slingshot would have you believe.

telehealth

Why men go online for testosterone

With influential figures like Joe Rogan evangelizing the benefits of testosterone therapy as a cure-all for male health issues, the shots have the appearance of an empty wellness trend. But while savvy consumer marketing has played a role in the rising popularity of testosterone, the boom in online services to offer the treatment are also responding to the difficulty many men face while seeking care.

Annalisa Merelli reports that despite solid scientific backing that some men may be suffering symptoms tied to low testosterone levels, doctors often lack knowledge and training to diagnose and treat low-T. Thus, an opportunity for online providers to fill the void.

investment

Hospital VC arms: Risks and benefits

An interesting perspective in the New England Journal of Medicine takes stock of the potential benefits and risks of health systems gambling on venture capital. On one hand, academic medical centers facing narrow margins and possible funding cuts from the government might see venture capital investing as a way to fill the coffers. On the other, the investments could expose theoretically non-profit health systems to increasing scrutiny for pursuing profitable activities disconnected from their mission.

In the NEJM perspective, authors looked at Pitchbook data on the 10 top academic medical centers playing in the space, including Mayo Clinic Ventures, Cleveland Clinic Ventures, Mass General Brigham Ventures, and Northwell Holdings. Between them, they participated in health tech deals valued at $1.1 billion from 2010 to 2024. The drop off in recent years in the chart above mirrors broader declines in venture capital investment following the post-pandemic boom.

Health tech news roundup

The Department of Veterans Affairs published more information about its upcoming ambient scribe pilot, including 10 sites that will be involved. Get ready Prescott, Ariz.
A new survey out this morning suggests 25% of general practitioners in the UK use generative AI tools in clinical work. That's up from 20% the year before.
President Trump yesterday signed an executive order launching the Genesis Mission, "a new national effort to use artificial intelligence to transform how scientific research is conducted and accelerate the speed of scientific discovery."

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What we're reading

Inside CMS's troubling WISeR vendor list and the power it hands to private contractors, Health Care Un-Covered
Study Finds Mental Health Benefit to One-Week Social Media Break, New York Times
Federal biotech commission calls for retooling of scientific research infrastructure, STAT