December 31, 2025
In 2026, Viktor Frankl’s Logotherapy will be recognized as having been founded 100 years ago. Ove the years, this fruitful philosophical system, unique among the systems of psychotherapy, evolved into a living and present reality influencing the way we think about and actualize meaning.
Technological advancements such as AI assisted writing tools, and more recently, even the concept of AI assisted therapy—are modern inventions that mark the end of 2025. The topic of the use of AI and its responsible use is a contemporary issue that is more likely than not, here to stay.
How is this technology affecting the dissemination of the work of Frankl?
While AI can be exceptionally useful in synthetizing data, answering questions and generating content, there are some inherent configurations that pose the possibility of biases and misconceptions. AI generated content is the product of a human endeavor. As such, it is based on a system and configurations created and trained by humans. Its configurations and algorithms are created by humans to pick up electronically available information from the net.
On the upside, this creates a lot of content and helps to connect data in a speedy and efficient manner. On the downside, depending on the electronic information available, the algorithms may favor certain types of data, such as the views of individuals whose input has been prolific, or well-known and popular. Models are trained as they receive additional information and the system adjusts to the type of audience and input it receives from websites, blogs, chats, social media content, and freely available books.
This system may be biased towards incorporating the views of individuals whose works are not available in electronic formats, who write in languages other than English, and whose work may be partially, but not fully picked up by the AI model.
When conversations rely on AI supported answers, the model may give rise to biases as it is created to assume a stance related to the initial stance of its user and supports it until discrepancies are pointed out and considered by the system. This may lead to perseveration biases, misunderstandings, or miscommunication.
Biases, and misconceptions are generated and propagated in this way: Statements from various sources get mixed and blended, semantics may be altered to fit popular psychological streams or catchy popular phrases, and these may get inadvertently posted alongside the information gleaned from the electronically available writings. The more misleading information circulates online, the easier the AI models pick up on this data and continue to use in their systems.
AI generated contents, usually speaking, would need to be indicated. But whether indicated or not, they need to be checked with human intelligence. Phrases or statements may have to be modified to make them in line with written texts published by a authors whose work they intend to reflect. Ideally, this can be accomplished through fact checking and feeding the data back into the model to keep refining and training it.
APA ethical guidelines regarding the use of AI emphasize that those abiding by their standards and choosing to integrate AI into their work must ensure transparency, human oversight, data privacy, and accountability. (1) They must prioritize professional judgment over AI given information to promote accuracy, fairness, and equity for the best interest of all, and uphold the values of beneficence, fidelity, and responsibility. (1)
Dr. Frankl once jokingly remarked that “I was never in fashion. So Logotherapy was never in fashion. So it’s not going to be out of fashion anytime soon.” (2) Logotherapy is not a fad. It is a fruitful and health-promoting philosophical system and a set of therapeutic principles derived from a wholistic model that has helped millions of people around the world.
To be true to the principles of logotherapy, one has to face the challenges of our time. There is enormous potential in making Frankl’s views known and available to wide audiences. There is a responsibility involved in doing it so that his ideas are presented truthfully and as much as possible, accurately. Thus, while freedoms open up with the use of AI, we have to handle this new technology responsibly.
References:
- APA (2025). Ethical guidance for AI in the professional practice of health service psychology. Retrieved from: https://www.apa.org/…/ethical-guidance-ai-professional…
- McKay, B. & K. (2025). Podcast #1,051: Man’s Search for Meaning, with Viktor Frankl’s Grandson. September 2, 2025. Retrieved from: https://www.artofmanliness.com/…/podcast-1051-mans…/