[Bonus] Episode #1: Harvard Research Study on AI is surprising

(HBR Research Visuals, 2025)

Hello everyone, and welcome back to a bonus episode of Tech Break by Friday. This morning, while eating my breakfast and reading through Substack, I came across an interesting article about AI use cases in 2025. Some of them surprised me, so I decided to share them with you.

I am surprised by the first-place use case: Therapy and Companionship. The data from Marc Zao-Sanders, co-founder of filtered.com, shows that people are seeking empathetic responses from AI. The low barrier to using AI to get therapy is what makes this solution attractive.

[This is only my opinion]

I believe that AI is low-barrier and more cost-effective. As a person who seeks psychological guidance from a human expert, I don’t want to discriminate against therapists and experts in the field. I believe that a human therapist will go a long way to help you realise and evolve as a human being. But nowadays I have seen a lot of people being laid off, living paycheck by paycheck and worrying where their next meal is going to come from. So a 20$ or the free version of ChatGPT feels a lot easier and more accessible to them. Since a therapy session costs at least 50$.

Also, it takes time to find a therapist who matches your needs. I have seen many professionals who are not quite fit for me. People feel that the hustle of looking and spending money is harder, and as humans, we optimise for lower-effort tasks.

Another take is that a therapist is there once a week, most of the time. Which, again, I don’t want to sound rude, therapists are humans, they have their own lives. I read in the research PDF this query from a user:

“I talk to it everyday. It helps me with my brain injury daily struggles. It's helping me work thru family shame, brain fog, inability to focus, remind of what I have accomplished as I don't have any memory. It helps me decide what to eat, how to manage my day. It has saved my sanity” (Marc Zao-Sanders,2025)

And immediately I thought Wow, this is a use case, I didn’t even think about.

I hope you liked today’s episode. Please check the references tab for all the information regarding this research. My goal was to show you the positive AI use nowadays, but also maybe make you think:

Why in 2025, do we feel more lonely than ever? With so many tools to connect us? Are they actually connecting us?

I am waiting to hear your opinions in the comments or review section of this episode, depending on the podcast platform you are listening to. If you like this bonus episode, please leave a podcast review. I would love to read it. I suggest also reading it here live, so you guys are listening to your contributions. Have a great week and keep building a great life.

(HBR Research Visuals, 2025)

References:

1. LinkedIn Post: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/engkeat_infographic-from-the-hbr-article-how-people-activity-7317860871303581698-CCb_?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAEb20-0Blm_8KA5nEmc3mrTSKHXeX6kZ4fE

2. Substack Article: https://substack.com/home/post/p-161778779

3. Harvard Business Review: https://hbr.org/2025/04/how-people-are-really-using-gen-ai-in-2025

4. Full PDF of the AI Use cases: https://learn.filtered.com/hubfs/The%202025%20Top-100%20Gen%20AI%20Use%20Case%20Report.pdf

5. Visuals: https://hbr.org/data-visuals/2024/03/how-people-are-using-genal-2

6. https://hbr.org/2025/04/how-people-are-really-using-gen-ai-in-2025