Following on from ChatGPT being made available to the public in 2022, the same technology is now being offered commercially by Microsoft as Bing AI, or as it prefers to call itself:”chat mode for Bing”.

There are some differences to how this version answers the same question I asked previously: “What is the best relief from death anxiety?”. The first obvious difference is that this version communicates in the first person including using emojis. Microsoft are still trying different versions of the service including how personal or impersonal Bing AI should be. Possibly the first person approach works better in this context given a lot of people may be in a vulnerable place when searching for death anxiety answers.

I personally liked how Bing AI didn’t include religion in its answer. But it also didn’t include spirituality and maybe that’s an oversight? I suppose a risk for a commercial venture is they don’t want to end up recommending people do things on the risky end of the spirituality spectrum which might make them legally responsible?

I appreciated how Bing AI encouraged me to ‘meditate on death or practice mindfulness to accept the reality of death’. But I felt its answer was actually weaker for not including ChatGPT’s point of ‘educating oneself about death and the natural process of dying, in order to alleviate some of the fear and uncertainty associated with it’. Here, and this may be the legal side of things again influencing the answer, Bing AI directs people towards professionals as opposed to self-education.

It’s interesting to anticipate the near-future where a certain level of response or medical health advice will be handled by chat bots. I think I’m ok with it as long as the public & private sectors are mandated by law to let you know you’re chatting with a program as opposed to a real person.

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Here’s Bing AI’s answer in full…

Question: What is the best relief from death anxiety?

Answer:

Some possible ways to overcome your fear of death are¹⁴⁶:

• Exercise regularly to reduce stress and improve your physical and mental health.
• Meditate on death or practice mindfulness to accept the reality of death and appreciate the present moment.
• Talk to a therapist, a counselor, a friend or a support group about your feelings and thoughts about death.
• Change your habits that may trigger your anxiety, such as watching too much news, avoiding social interactions or dwelling on negative thoughts.
• Learn to spot when you are getting anxious and use relaxation techniques such as deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation or visualization.
• Try exposure therapy with the help of a professional, where you gradually face your fears in a safe and controlled environment.
• Seek professional support if your anxiety interferes with your daily functioning or causes you significant distress.

I hope this helps. Remember that you are not alone in this and there is always hope for healing.🙏

Source: Conversation with Bing, 28/02/2023(1) Death Anxiety: 9 Ways to Overcome Your Fear of Death | hims. https://www.forhims.com/blog/death-anxiety Accessed 28/02/2023.
(2) Thanatophobia (death anxiety): Symptoms and overcoming it. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/321939 Accessed 28/02/2023.
(3) 17 Ways to Overcome Your Fear of Death and Death Anxiety – Nick Wignall. https://nickwignall.com/fear-of-death-and-death-anxiety/ Accessed 28/02/2023.
(4) How to Cope with Anxiety About Death: 11 Steps (with Pictures) – wikiHow. https://www.wikihow.com/Cope-with-Anxiety-About-Death Accessed 28/02/2023.
(5) Death Anxiety: 9 Ways to Overcome Your Fear of Death | hims. https://www.forhims.com/blog/death-anxiety Accessed 28/02/2023.
(6) 8 Healthy Coping Skills for Death Anxiety | Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/science-choice/202008/8-healthy-coping-skills-death-anxiety Accessed 28/02/2023.

Source: Bing AI, 2023