Why We Created A Chatbot To Help People At Risk For Eating Disorders

This article focuses on a chatbot developed to prevent eating disorders and help people with body image concerns. It was created and evaluated by researchers funded by the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA). The article discusses the backlash the chatbot received and why it is important to bring tech into preventing and treating eating disorders. Eating disorders affect up to 10% of individuals in their lifetimes and cost society $65 billion in the U.S. in 2018-2019 alone.