Ones and Zeros: Can AI Replace Therapy? | Chris Rhyss Edwards

This week I'm talking to Chris Rhyss Edwards. Army combat engineer, author of five books including "Good Reasons to Kill" and "The Woke Paradox", and now a PhD researcher building AI tools for people who won't talk to a stranger but will talk to a machine. Chris went from a bathroom-mirror pep talk from his politician mum ("she doesn't call a spade a spade, she calls it a fucking shovel") to pitching Rupert Murdoch for millions at News Corp, and he's spent the years since working out why some people can be that direct and most people can't. Now he's building CommonLayer.ai, a safety layer sitting between AI chatbots and the people using them for mental health support, and he brought the receipts: the WHO data on loneliness, the stat on how few people have anyone to call, and the story of the mate who finally asked him about erectile dysfunction because an AI chatbot gave him permission first. We also get into what happens when a squirrel in Central Park convinces an ex-combat soldier he's about to die. In this episode:Growing up in a retirement village and joining the Army at 17The real, unglamorous version of "battlefield to boardroom"Why civilian workplaces reward indecision and veterans find that maddeningThe coming skills gap: AI replacing the junior roles people used to learn onStar Trek, human-in-the-loop AI, and the three questions everyone actually asks a chatbotHis mate who fell in love with an AI avatar, and where Chris draws the lineOne therapist for every 6,000 people, and why 80% of us don't need one anywayThe WHO's loneliness data and what it means for the next decadeThe Central Park squirrel that triggered a full panic attackWhy the friend who asked about erectile dysfunction might be the whole pointConnect with Chris Rhyss Edwards:🌐 https://www.chrisrhyss.co/💼 https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisrhyss/🏢 https://www.commonlayer.ai/Journey to Purpose is a personal transformation podcast featuring real conversations about mindset, trauma recovery, self-worth, spiritual awakening, resilience, and finding your life’s purpose. New episodes every week. 🎧 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4Of0Na1qWovS8Aw2X2FU8M 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/philippa.bagley/ 🌐 Website: https://philippabagley.com/ Subscribe and leave a review — it helps others find the show.About your hostPippa Bagley is a clinical hypnotherapist specialising in burnout and sleep, and the host of Journey to Purpose. Based in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, she is passionate about helping people reconnect with what truly matters — and build lives and careers that feel genuinely sustainable. Pippa is also studying for an MSc in the Neuroscience and Psychology of Mental Health at King’s College London. Find out more at philippabagley.com