Erica K. King

The Blog

Calmer days, one small habit at a time

Quick stress-management practices, calming routines, and research made human. Jump to what you need today.

Stress Science, Made Human

What the research says about stress and well-being, explained plainly and tied to something you can try.

Scientists Mapped 1,800 Protein Connections in Autism. Here’s Why That Matters.

Stress Science, Made Human

Scientists Mapped 1,800 Protein Connections in Autism. Here’s Why That Matters.

A new Science study from UCSF mapped more than 1,800 protein interactions linked to autism risk genes. Here’s why the finding matters for precision autism research.

August 29, 2026 · 5 min read

A New DBT Study Asks a Better Question Than “Does Therapy Work?”

Stress Science, Made Human

A New DBT Study Asks a Better Question Than “Does Therapy Work?”

A new open-access DBT study does not try to prove therapy works. It asks whether a real psychiatric hospital can actually deliver it — the gap between efficacy and implementation.

August 28, 2026 · 4 min read

Researchers Asked 10 AI Platforms About Autism. Here’s Where They Fell Short.

Stress Science, Made Human

Researchers Asked 10 AI Platforms About Autism. Here’s Where They Fell Short.

Researchers tested autism information from 10 free AI platforms at two different times. The answers were generally accurate, but many were too difficult to read, short on practical guidance, weak on references, and framed autism primarily through a medical lens. Here is what families and professionals should check before trusting an AI-generated health answer.

August 21, 2026 · 4 min read

Robots May Be About to Have Their ChatGPT Moment

Stress Science, Made Human

Robots May Be About to Have Their ChatGPT Moment

The next major AI breakthrough may not happen inside a chatbot. Robotics companies are racing toward embodied AI: systems that can perceive the physical world, plan actions, and control humanoid robots in unpredictable environments. If robot “brains” have their ChatGPT moment, the impact could reach caregiving, rehabilitation, logistics, education, public safety, and everyday home assistance.

August 21, 2026 · 4 min read

AI Isn’t Writing Students’ Papers Anymore. It’s Taking the Whole Class.

Stress Science, Made Human

AI Isn’t Writing Students’ Papers Anymore. It’s Taking the Whole Class.

AI cheating in higher education is no longer just about ChatGPT writing essays. Agentic AI can now navigate course platforms, complete multi-step workflows, and raise a much bigger question for online learning: how do we know students actually learned? This post explains why AI detectors are not enough and offers a practical “proof of learning” approach for educators.

August 13, 2026 · 3 min read

Psychology Is Becoming Core Infrastructure for AI

Stress Science, Made Human

Psychology Is Becoming Core Infrastructure for AI

Psychology is becoming more than a helping profession. As AI evolves, behavioral science is emerging as essential infrastructure for designing technology that people can trust and use well.

August 10, 2026 · 3 min read

Can Venting to AI Actually Make You Feel Better? Psychology Is Starting to Find Out

Stress Science, Made Human

Can Venting to AI Actually Make You Feel Better? Psychology Is Starting to Find Out

Sometimes we don't need someone to fix the problem—we need somewhere to put it. New research suggests that venting to an AI chatbot can provide measurable emotional relief. The psychology behind why may be even more interesting than the technology.

August 9, 2026 · 4 min read

AI Is Becoming a Sleep Scientist—and That Could Change How We Understand Stress

Stress Science, Made Human

AI Is Becoming a Sleep Scientist—and That Could Change How We Understand Stress

Your sleep tracker can tell you how long you slept. The next generation of technology may help scientists understand what your sleeping brain is actually doing—and why it matters for stress, emotion, and long-term health.

August 3, 2026 · 3 min read

OpenAI’s New Research Push Is a Wake-Up Call for Professors, Students, and the Public

Stress Science, Made Human

OpenAI’s New Research Push Is a Wake-Up Call for Professors, Students, and the Public

AI is becoming part of research, learning, work, and public decision-making. OpenAI’s latest research efforts suggest that the next challenge is not simply using AI more—it is learning how to use it wisely, safely, and critically.

August 3, 2026 · 3 min read

The Best AI Stress Management Tools Teach Skills—Not Just Give Advice

Stress Science, Made Human

The Best AI Stress Management Tools Teach Skills—Not Just Give Advice

The future of AI wellness isn't about replacing therapists or becoming another voice in your head. It's about helping people build practical stress-management skills they can carry into everyday life.

July 29, 2026 · 3 min read

Stress Science, Made Human

AI Won't Replace Therapists — But It Will Change How They're Trained

A look at how AI-assisted case simulations and feedback tools are already changing clinical training programs — and what to watch for next.

May 10, 2026 · 1 min read

Build With Me

Behind-the-scenes builds: the apps, tools, and AI experiments Erica is making, mistakes and all.

Claude May Be Worth $1.5 Trillion—and the Reason Isn’t Just the Chatbot

Build With Me

Claude May Be Worth $1.5 Trillion—and the Reason Isn’t Just the Chatbot

Anthropic’s reported $1.5 trillion secondary-market valuation reveals where AI value is moving—from chatbots to specialized systems that complete work.

August 15, 2026 · 3 min read

Why Every AI App I Build Starts With One Human Question

Build With Me

Why Every AI App I Build Starts With One Human Question

The best AI products don't start with features. They start with a simple question about the person using them. Here's the design philosophy behind every AI project I build.

August 7, 2026 · 3 min read

The New AI Experiment: Give the Agent a Smaller Job

Build With Me

The New AI Experiment: Give the Agent a Smaller Job

AI agents can browse, code, summarize, click, and take actions. But the smartest experiment may not be giving them more power—it may be learning how to give them smaller, safer jobs first.

August 5, 2026 · 4 min read

AI Experiments: Why I’m Treating AI Coding Agents Like Assistants, Not Autopilots

Build With Me

AI Experiments: Why I’m Treating AI Coding Agents Like Assistants, Not Autopilots

AI coding agents can generate code, suggest fixes, and speed up development. But my newest AI experiment is about something more important: learning how to keep human judgment, testing, and review at the center of the build.

July 30, 2026 · 4 min read

Building the Stress Reset App: Part 1 — Starting With the Psychology

Build With Me

Building the Stress Reset App: Part 1 — Starting With the Psychology

The 30-Day Stress Reset did not start with a dashboard, a color palette, or a feature list. It started with one psychology question: what helps people feel calmer, more capable, and less overwhelmed in real life?

July 24, 2026 · 4 min read

Build With Me

I Tested 3 AI Lesson-Building Tools So You Don't Have To

A side-by-side, no-sponsorship comparison of three AI tools for building classroom lessons — including the one I ended up building my own version of.

March 15, 2026 · 1 min read

Build With Me

From Idea to Live App in a Weekend: My Lovable + Vercel Workflow

The exact toolchain I used to take the Meditation Builder from a napkin sketch to a live, shareable link — with no formal coding background required.

February 9, 2026 · 1 min read

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