AI and Mental Health – The good, the bad, and the ugly.

In 2023, a Belgian man committed suicide after chatting with an AI chatbot. In October 2024, a Florida mom sued an AI chat platform, which she blames for her teenage son’s suicide. The site Character.ai is the second-most popular AI tool after ChatGPT and known to be highly addictive for young people.

As AI is increasingly used in healthcare from diagnosis to mental health support, it raises serious ethical questions about these technological interventions. The lack of accountability and high potential for harm has overshadowed the potential benefits of AI. Researchers caution against use of AI in mental health without appropriate safeguards and have proposed policies to address privacy protection, bias mitigation, and self-harm prevention.

We have invited the Associate Professor of Engineering and Science at Adolfo Ibañez University, Chile. Romina Torres will explain the components of a hypothetical system for supporting clinicals in the area of mental health, identify potential dangers (ethical issues), and AI vulnerabilities.

Join us for this timely and highly relevant discussion on Thursday, January 30^th at 11a ET.