Do androids dream of electric sheep? A critical perspective on artificial intelligence as a therapeutic tool

Bibliographic Data

ID20480830
AuthorsJuan Rodado (corresponding author), Felix Crespo
Year2026
Volume35
Issue1
Pages85-92
Publication date2026-01-02
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Forum of Psychoanalysis (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0803-706X • E-ISSN: 1651-2324
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/0803706x.2025.2588289
OpenAlexW7150979015
LanguageEN
References cited7

In Nexus: A brief history of information networks from the Stone Age to AI, Yuval Noah Harari argues that artificial intelligence (AI) could profoundly transform our world. Unlike earlier technologies, AI not only analyzes data but also reshapes it and produces narratives that influence how we think, challenging ideas of knowledge, power, and social organization. Psychoanalyst Violaine Fua Púppulo suggests that AI may constitute a “fourth narcissistic wound” by questioning whether creativity, decision-making, and knowledge production are uniquely human. While these issues seem contemporary, technology has always shaped how humanity defines itself. From basic tools to neural networks, each innovation blurs the boundary between human and non-human. AI is distinctive because it expands human capacities while forcing a reconsideration of autonomy and subjectivity. Philip K. Dick's Do androids dream of electric sheep? dramatizes this tension by asking whether androids can desire, suffer, or create meaning like humans. As AI increasingly enters areas grounded in human interaction, such as therapy, this paper critically examines its therapeutic use from a psychoanalytic perspective that highlights human vulnerability and the essential role of relationships

Artificial general intelligence · Dream · Psychoanalytic theory · Neuroethics, Human Enhancement, Biomedical Innovations · Regulation of Appetite and Obesity · Sleep and Wakefulness Research

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