Welcome to the 21st WCP Virtual Congress Program Scheduling

The advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning have led to increased interests in technologies for mental health from the side of clinicians as well as patients. Machine learning apps and conversational AI (artificial intelligence-driven chatbots) are systems that have a great potential to learn about and predict behavior, identify risk factors and symptoms, and help individuals to learn new skills and techniques to recognize their behavioral patterns and to manage their symptoms. Although common mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety disorders respond well to psychotherapy and medication, new approaches and tools are needed to address the mental health gap, improve the quality of healthcare, and decrease pressure on health providers. In this context, machine learning apps and conversational AI may be complements to traditional psychotherapy and medication, alternatives for those who refuse or cannot undergo such treatments, and tools for prevention and well-being. However, these promises entail considerable risks and possible negative impacts on individuals and society. The potential role of machine learning apps and conversational AI is in need of clarification. This symposium aims at introducing and discussing the main ethical challenges raised by these novel technologies. Manuel Trachsel will present an overview of the ethical challenges of AI in psychiatry and psychotherapy; Tania Manríquez Roa will critically address the ethics of empowerment in machine learning apps for mental health; and Jana Sedlakova will present an epistemological and ethical assessment of the relation of the interaction with conversational AI and the concept of the self.