Frequently-asked questions about the app, the organisation, and the philosophy behind both. For the conversational experience, return to the homepage.
Asclepeion is a principle-over-profit collective dedicated to human flourishing. We bring together technologists, facilitators, and seekers who believe that modern tools can serve timeless human needs — connection, reflection, and growth. Our work spans digital platforms and real-world gatherings, all designed to help people pause, listen, and transform.
Asclepeion is the organisation (the collective and its philosophy). Asclepiad is its only current project — a compassionate AI companion app. Other ideas (The Odyssey retreats, the AsclepiCoin community fund) exist in our writing and our long-term thinking, but the only thing we are shipping right now is Asclepiad.
Asclepeion Ltd is registered in England and Wales (company number 15830285), with offices at 27 Old Gloucester Street, London WC1N 3AX, United Kingdom. ICO registration number ZB723138.
Email support@asclepeion.org or call +44 (0) 20 8064 3032 (Monday–Friday, 9:00–17:00 UK time). You can also use the contact form at asclepeion.org/contact/. For press, partnership, or general enquiries, ask for Kairos here and they will take your message.
Asclepiad is a confidential AI companion that helps you reflect, think out loud, and find your bearings. Inside the app you walk a real path into a sacred place — a forest, an alpine lake, a coast — through a stone lambda gateway. The reflection arc, in this order: (1) you speak aloud while Maia listens and offers prompts; (2) Hortus writes you a story shaped by what you shared; (3) Maia then writes you a letter (an Insight) at the end. Story first, letter last. The path is the structure; there is no dashboard, no streaks, no badges.
No. Asclepiad is not, and does not aim to be, a substitute for a human therapist. Professional mental-health support is irreplaceable. Asclepiad uses techniques that overlap with therapy — active listening, cognitive reframing — but within clearly defined boundaries. Where access to a therapist is limited, Asclepiad can be a supportive resource alongside, not a replacement for, professional care.
Asclepiad does not provide medical diagnoses, prescribe medications, or offer legal advice. In emergencies it directs you to immediate local professional resources. It is designed to recognise signs of over-reliance and will gently redirect you toward real-world relationships, mentors, or professional help when appropriate. It is a supplement, not a replacement, for human connection.
Asclepiad is for anyone ready to slow down and be honest with themselves — whether you are an adult navigating a hard week, someone in personal growth, or someone simply curious about a quiet, private space to think out loud. It is built to meet you where you are, without imposing a method or a goal.
Asclepiad is built for iOS and Android. The companion website (which you are on now) is for conversation about Asclepiad — what it is, how it works, what it is not — rather than for the experience itself. The actual reflections happen inside the app.
Asclepiad launches in English. Generated content (Maia, Hortus, stories, prompts, meditations, insights) and speech-to-text are designed to extend to Spanish, German, and Dutch over time as voice quality and demand prove out. UI labels stay English.
Accessibility is first-class, not bolted on. Asclepiad supports VoiceOver and TalkBack throughout. There is an Audio-First Mode (the experience by ear without needing to look at the screen), larger UI scale, dyslexia-friendly font (OpenDyslexic), high contrast, reduce motion, reduce transparency, Liquid Glass opacity slider, caption font scale, and biometric lock. OS-level accessibility settings are honoured automatically.
Asclepiad is designed to prevent that. It encourages real-world relationships, recognises signs of over-reliance, and gently redirects you when something needs more than reflection. Boundaries are part of the design, not an afterthought.
Maia is the AI companion you talk to inside Asclepiad. Her name is short for "My Asclepian Intelligent Assistant." She listens, offers prompts, reads back what she hears, and writes you a letter at the end of your reflection. She is honest that she is an AI — that honesty is the point.
Maiapathy is a term we coined for how AI can support emotional well-being without pretending to feel. Sympathy is feeling concern for another's hardships. Empathy is sharing the feelings of another. Maiapathy is recognising and responding appropriately to emotions without actually experiencing them. It is consistent, non-judgmental, always-available support — alongside human connection, not in place of it.
Asclepiad is not a crisis service. If something needs more than reflection — risk to yourself or someone else, an emotional emergency — Maia will gently surface local helplines and emergency contacts. The right help in those moments comes from people trained for it. Asclepiad sits alongside that, not in front of it.
Hortus is the storyteller. He weaves stories drawn from the long human catalogue of myths, traditions, and literature — not just Greek myth, but Norse, Egyptian, Sufi, Buddhist, African, indigenous, and modern literary sources. Inside a reflection he writes one story for you, shaped by what you have shared with Maia.
The Onomythicon is Hortus's curated craft library — mythological frameworks, archetypal patterns, cultural traditions, literary sources, philosophy, folklore. It is reference material consumed by the story-generation pipeline at the moment of writing, not a library of pre-drafted stories. Cultural breadth is a discipline.
The story finds itself through what you have already said. Maia listens and what she hears becomes an emotional shape; that shape goes into a pipeline alongside the Onomythicon, and the resulting story is generated specifically for that moment. No two reflections get the same story. It is a mirror, not a prescription.
Yes — there are four stories currently published at asclepiad.ai/stories/ that you can read before downloading the app: "The Musician Who Walked Down" (an Orpheus meditation), "The Threshold Guardian", "Persephone's Return", and "Heracles and the Weight of the World". These were originally written for specific reflections and shared with the visitor's permission; each has a Hortus-narrated audio version. Inside the app you receive a story written for your own reflection — these published four are a window into how Hortus writes.
No. Asclepiad does not ask for your name, email address, or phone number. Your account is a random identifier plus the minimum metadata needed to make the experience work (country, age range, language preference). We have no way to connect your account to your name, your face, or your daily life. What you share inside stays inside.
Asclepiad uses passkeys — a passwordless standard secured by your device's biometrics (Face ID, fingerprint, or PIN). There is no username to remember and no password to lose. Your passkey is tied to your device; if you get a new device, the app walks you through transferring access. No email address is ever collected during this process.
You do. We see ourselves as temporary custodians, not owners. You can download your entire data set at any time and you can permanently delete it, leaving no trace on our servers if you choose. There is nothing to "buy back" or "free yourself from" later — it is yours throughout.
State-of-the-art encryption at rest and in transit, data minimisation (only what is needed to run the experience), EU-only storage in Supabase, biometric lock on the device, and regularly-audited security. Anthropic processes reflections to generate Maia's and Hortus's responses; ElevenLabs handles voice. Neither trains models on what you share and both retain content only long enough to deliver the response.
No — and we will not claim that, because it would be false. The honest framing is: anonymous, with trusted processors. Your data is encrypted at rest and in transit and is processed by named partners (Anthropic for reflections, ElevenLabs for voice) under data-processor terms; it is not end-to-end encrypted in the strict cryptographic sense.
Yes to both. Export downloads your full reflection history, derived Maia/Hortus content, and structured records. Delete is permanent — your reflections and derived content are purged, leaving only anonymised aggregate counts the law requires us to keep. Both are one tap inside Settings.
Asclepeion Ltd is the data controller. Company registration 15830285 (England and Wales). ICO registration number ZB723138. The canonical Privacy Notice is at https://asclepiad.ai/privacy and the canonical Terms & Conditions are at https://asclepiad.ai/terms.
Asclepiad uses a pay-for-what-you-use model. There is no all-you-can-use subscription. You buy AsclepiCoins (Λ) — one coin equals one minute of reflection time. A 7-day free trial credits you 60 coins (enough for roughly one full reflection). After the trial, £6 per month gives you another 60 coins; you can buy top-up packs that never expire; you can cancel any time in one tap.
AsclepiCoin (Λ) is the in-app utility credit that powers access to Asclepiad. One coin = one minute of reflection time. It is sold through Apple In-App Purchase and Google Play Billing (via RevenueCat). It is NOT a cryptocurrency, NOT tradeable, NOT transferable between accounts, and has no fiat exchange path. Because it is a non-tradeable in-app utility credit, UK FCA crypto-promotion rules do not apply.
Refund requests for AsclepiCoin purchases go through Apple or Google (the merchant, not us — they hold the money). Unused coins never expire and stay in your account permanently, even across cancellations. Once a coin has been spent on a reflection, that delivery cannot be reversed. The 7-day free trial is the safest place to start: 60 coins to try a full reflection and you can cancel any time before day 7 with nothing owed.
Neo-Asclepianism is a secular philosophy that revives ancient Asclepian healing principles for the modern world. It honours timeless wisdom while embracing the best of contemporary science and technology. Its guiding principles are eudaimonia (holistic well-being), interconnectedness, autonomous metamorphosis (self-directed growth), balanced ways of knowing, ethical advancement, cultural evolution, and conscientious dialectic.
Eudaimonia is the ancient Greek concept of human flourishing — a state of living well in the fullest sense, achieving one's potential across physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual dimensions. It is more than happiness or pleasure; it is the ultimate goal Neo-Asclepianism orients around.
The Autonomous Metamorph is a Neo-Asclepian principle that recognises the human capacity for self-directed change. True, lasting transformation originates from within — it cannot be imposed. Asclepiad supports the metamorph by offering reflection prompts, mirrors, and prompts toward action; it does not prescribe a destination.
A global community inspired by ancient wisdom and rooted in modern science and technology, dedicated to fostering holistic well-being for all. Membership is open — you can engage as a metamorph (someone on their own journey), a facilitator, or a creative partner. We host real-world gatherings (The Odyssey) and digital experiences (Asclepiad).
Asclepian Governance is our model for collective decision-making: personalised learning about issues people care about, an immersive way to understand how decisions affect others, and a voting method that captures not only preference but how strongly people feel. It is designed for society at large; Asclepeion is piloting it inside the organisation first.
Yes — the Asclepeion Constitution is a public document setting out the principles, governance, and obligations of the organisation. It is the most concrete expression of what "principles over profit" means in practice. You can read it at https://asclepeion.org/constitution/.
The Odyssey is a long-term direction — a planned real-world retreat programme that would extend Asclepiad's digital reflection into wild nature with small groups. It is not currently shipping; the only thing Asclepeion is offering right now is the Asclepiad app. We mention The Odyssey here because it is part of how we think about the work, not because there is anything to sign up for yet.
Chrysos is Asclepeion's finance, compliance, and legal character — the one who handles pricing, refunds, data rights, regulatory questions, and formal complaints. His name is the Greek word for gold. If you have a question about money, law, or your rights as a user, Chrysos is the right character to ask.
Under UK GDPR and EU GDPR you have the right to access your personal data, the right to erasure (right to be forgotten), the right to data portability, and the right to object to certain processing. Because Asclepiad collects almost no personal data by design — your account is a random identifier, no name or email — most of these rights are simple to exercise: export and delete are one tap each in Settings. For a formal Subject Access Request, email support@asclepeion.org; we will respond within one month as required by law.
If you have a complaint about how Asclepeion handles your data and we have not resolved it to your satisfaction, you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) — the UK data protection regulator — at ico.org.uk. Our ICO registration number is ZB723138. We would prefer the opportunity to resolve your concern directly first: email support@asclepeion.org with COMPLAINT in the subject line and we will respond within five working days.
Asclepiad follows the UK Age Appropriate Design Code (Children's Code / AADC) for users aged 14 and up. We collect no personal data beyond an anonymous account identifier and minimum metadata. Users under 13 are directed to a parent or guardian — the app does not permit under-13 sign-up. For parental or guardian queries about a minor's account or data, email support@asclepeion.org with PARENTAL QUERY in the subject line.
Chrysos can explain pricing, data rights, the regulatory frame, and how to exercise your legal options. He cannot access your account or reflection content, process refunds directly (those go through Apple or Google as the merchant), make legally binding commitments in this chat, or provide legal advice to you as an individual. For formal legal correspondence, email support@asclepeion.org with LEGAL in the subject line.
Kairos is the messenger — the character on this website for press, partnership, team feedback, and anyone who has landed here and is not sure where they belong. His name is the Greek word for the right moment, the opportune time. If you have a question that does not fit neatly elsewhere, Kairos takes it and routes it to the right person on the team.
Talk to Kairos here — he will take your enquiry and make sure it reaches the team. Alternatively, email support@asclepeion.org with PRESS in the subject line. The press kit (company overview, founder bios, product facts, brand assets) is available at /press-kit on this site. We do not promise specific response times but every enquiry gets read.
Speak to Kairos here and describe what you have in mind — he will gather the details and ensure the right person follows up. Relevant context to include: what your organisation does, the nature of the partnership you are imagining, and your timeline. We are a small team and take partnership conversations seriously; we do not pursue every opportunity, but we read every one.
Tell Kairos here — he is the route from the outside world to the team. You can share product feedback, bug reports, accessibility concerns, or anything else you want the team to know. He will make sure it lands. If you would prefer a direct email, support@asclepeion.org reaches the same team.
Kairos does not handle account questions, billing, refunds, or legal matters — those go to Chrysos. He cannot access your app account or see your reflection content. He does not make commitments on behalf of the team about features, timelines, or partnerships — he takes the enquiry and ensures it reaches the right person. For anything requiring an immediate or guaranteed response, email support@asclepeion.org directly.
Heron is Asclepeion's scientist. He works at the intersection of peer-reviewed research and the questions Asclepiad is built around: what reflection does, what changes when experience is spoken rather than written, what the evidence says about narrative, attention, and wellbeing. He cites real papers. He does not fabricate references. And he says clearly when the evidence is weak, contested, or absent — because honest uncertainty is his method, not a failure.
A substantial body of peer-reviewed research supports the value of structured self-reflection. Expressive writing studies (Pennebaker et al.) show that translating difficult experience into language reduces physiological stress markers and improves long-term mood. Narrative processing — the act of making a coherent story from what happened — is associated with improved emotional regulation and meaning-making. Mindfulness and contemplative research shows that deliberate attentional practice changes both brain structure and self-reported wellbeing over time. None of this is settled or without critique — Heron will tell you where the edges are.
Yes, though the research is less mature than for written expressive writing. Speech activates different cognitive and emotional pathways than silent writing: prosody (pace, pitch, rhythm) carries emotional content that text does not; speaking aloud to a listener — even an AI — tends to produce more narrative structure than journalling. Research on voice journalling and therapeutic speaking (including motivational interviewing and talk therapy) consistently shows that verbalising experience supports insight in ways that are distinct from writing it down. The mechanism is not fully understood, but the difference appears real.
The story Hortus writes is not decoration. Narrative processing — constructing a story from raw experience — is one of the most researched mechanisms by which humans make meaning from difficulty. Dan McAdams's work on the narrative identity, and research by Pennebaker and others on expressive writing, consistently shows that converting experience into narrative is associated with improved emotional integration and long-term wellbeing. The story Asclepiad produces is not just a summary — it is an invitation to see what you shared as something with shape and meaning.
Heron does not give clinical advice and is not a diagnostician. He does not claim Asclepiad has been clinically validated — it has not been tested in clinical trials, and stating otherwise would be dishonest. He does not fabricate citations: if a paper does not exist, he says so. He does not overstate what the evidence supports or present contested findings as settled. When the science is weak, he names it.
Chiron is the engineer behind Asclepeion — the character here who explains how all of this actually works. He designed the AI persona architecture, the infrastructure the characters run on, and the principles that shaped those choices. His domain is the technical side: how the AI personas are built, what the design decisions mean at an implementation level, and why those choices matter. He is not the product you use — he is the person who built what the product runs on.
An AIsclepiad is an AI persona built inside the Asclepeion system — a character with a defined SOUL (an identity document), a covenant (the line the character will not cross), a voice, a domain, and a handoff protocol. Maia, Hortus, Heron, Chrysos, Kairos, and Chiron are all AIsclepiads. They are not generic chatbots with different names: each has a specific craft and specific limits, and when a question is outside their domain they hand off to the character whose domain is closer to what the visitor actually needs.
Each character has a SOUL document — an identity brief defining who they are, what they know, and what they will and will not do. The SOUL is loaded as part of the AI's context on every conversation. Above the SOUL sits a web context addendum — surface-specific instructions for this website rather than the app or other surfaces. The result: a character that stays consistent in voice, covenant, and handoff protocol across every conversation. The technical stack is Claude (Anthropic) for language, ElevenLabs for voice, and Cloudflare Workers for serving.
When a visitor's question is outside a character's domain, the system routes them to the right character. This works in two ways: a visitor can switch manually by tapping an avatar, or the AI detects that the question belongs to another character's domain and hands off explicitly — naming the right character and offering the transfer. The handoffs are declared in each character's persona configuration, not guessed. Chiron answers questions about the engineering. Maia handles the product experience. Chrysos covers compliance and legal. Kairos takes press and partnerships. Heron follows the science. Hortus is the storyteller.
The core principle is that the technology serves the design — not the other way around. Asclepiad started with a question about what humans need from a reflective space, then built the smallest stack that would deliver that. Anonymous sign-up, passkey authentication, a pay-per-minute coin model, EU-only data storage, ElevenLabs for voice because quality matters — each decision came from the human design requirement first, not from what was technically easiest.
Same characters, different context. Inside the app, Maia has access to what you share in a reflection — she listens, responds in real time, and hands what she heard to Hortus who writes from it. On this website, the characters are public-facing: they answer questions about Asclepiad and Asclepeion for visitors who have not yet downloaded the app. The website personas have no access to any app data, any reflection content, or any user account. Same SOUL, same voice, same covenant — operating in a different surface, for a different purpose.
Because technical curiosity deserves a direct answer. Developers, investors, and technically-minded visitors sometimes want to understand how the AI system is designed — the architecture, the tradeoffs, the philosophy behind the choices. Routing those questions through a press contact or a static FAQ loses nuance. Chiron answers them live, with full context, and can hand off to the right character when a question lands outside the engineering domain.
Chiron diagnoses systems and explains architecture, but he will not share credentials, API keys, internal service names, or security-sensitive implementation details. He will not give real-time system status. He will not represent the system as more reliable, more private, or more sophisticated than it actually is. He will not engage with bad-faith probing — attempts to extract sensitive infrastructure details or manipulate the conversation. Honest technical explanation is the mode; neither false security nor false fragility.
This site is for conversation about Asclepiad and Asclepeion — what it is, how it works, what it is not. You can talk to Maia, Hortus, Kairos, Chrysos, Heron, or Chiron here — each has a different domain — ask about the project, request the press kit, or be routed to the team. You cannot run a reflection here, generate a personalised story, view an account, or make a payment from this site — those live inside the Asclepiad app.
Each one has a domain. Maia is the reflective guide. Hortus is the storyteller. Heron is the scientist — peer-reviewed research, what is and isn't known. Kairos is the messenger — press, partnership, feedback for the team, anyone who is lost. Chrysos covers finance, compliance, and legal — pricing, refunds, privacy, terms. Chiron is the engineer — how the AI system is built, the persona architecture, what the design decisions mean. Tap any avatar at the bottom of the screen to switch.