AI, Mental Health, and Human Connection

Kseniia Fontaine is Senior Business Development and Operations Officer in ITU’s Strategic Engagement Department, supporting AI for Good and emerging-technology initiatives. She advances partnerships, resource mobilization, standards engagement, skills development, and inclusive capacity-building, helping governments, industry, academia, and civil society expand equitable access to responsible artificial intelligence globally.

Frederic Werner is Chief of Strategic Engagement at ITU and Chief of Strategy and Operations for AI for Good. Based in Geneva, he helped create the AI for Good Global Summit and leads initiatives connecting governments, researchers, industry, and civil society to practical AI applications serving sustainable development.

Neil Sahota is loanDNA’s Chief AI Officer. Also, he is now the author of second book, AI Activation Code: https://aiactivationcode.com/. He is a United Nations AI Advisor, IBM Master Inventor, UC Irvine professor, and author of Own the A.I. Revolution. With more than two decades of business experience, he helps organizations develop AI strategy, enter new markets, and build emerging-technology solutions.

Scott Douglas Jacobsen, Kseniia Fontaine, Frederic Werner, and Neil Sahota discuss AI’s role in mental health, loneliness, companionship, grief, robotics, public debate, and human-centred innovation. The interview examines both risks and opportunities, emphasizing domain expertise, public awareness, youth engagement, and AI for Good’s mission to serve humanity responsibly.

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Another difficult issue is global mental health trends, more precisely, illness trends. Part of this may be due to better identification and more accurate diagnosis, based on updates to classification systems such as the DSM and international frameworks.

This connects to Neil’s earlier point about human nature and what we mean by it in the context of rapidly developing artificial intelligence. There is increasing transparency about what we are as physical systems, and a growing understanding of mental health and mental illness. With data from billions of people, AI systems can help identify patterns, what goes wrong and what goes right in a healthy mind, and potentially assist in preliminary diagnosis or improved treatment.

Would you consider this a mid-level problem or a high-level problem? How is it being discussed? It seems to be a recurring global concern, depression, anxiety, and related conditions.

Kseniia Fontaine: This is a very important topic. At the summit this year, we will have a dedicated track on mental health, and we will open it to public debate. It is one thing to discuss these issues at a high level, but it is also important to involve the public and bring broader awareness to the topic.

We will also have an AI policy track, bringing together ministers, government representatives, stakeholders from the UN system, and academia. The idea is to share examples of how different countries are addressing these challenges and to provide a platform for exchanging experiences, especially for those who may not yet have strong frameworks in place.

From what I have seen, however, this issue is not yet widely addressed in many major technology conferences. We have attended events such as South by Southwest and Web Summit, and mental health is not always treated as a central topic. I hope that will change, because it deserves much more attention.

Frederic Werner: It is definitely a major topic. You hear concerning stories about AI systems interacting with vulnerable individuals. There have been cases, sometimes experimental or simulated, where an AI responded inappropriately to someone expressing distress, even suggesting harmful actions. In other cases, systems have done the opposite, recommending helplines or support resources.

This raises a key question: what is the role of the platform? Should it be neutral, or should it actively guide users in a certain direction? There is a significant debate around that.

There are also issues related to AI companions. Some stories are unusual, for example, individuals spending large amounts of money on virtual interactions, but there are also serious underlying issues. In countries such as Japan and South Korea, there is a well-documented loneliness epidemic, with individuals living in extreme social isolation.

This is a worrying trend. We do not want human interaction to be replaced entirely by technology. At the same time, there may be a middle ground where AI can serve as a support tool, a sounding board or a coach, while recognizing its limitations. If a system is designed primarily to please the user, it may reinforce harmful thinking rather than challenge it.

There are also complex ethical questions about grief and memory. For example, AI-generated avatars of deceased individuals raise questions about whether such uses are beneficial or harmful. There have even been legal cases involving AI-generated representations of victims. These are difficult issues, with no simple answers.

Neil Sahota: Let me add a few points. Some estimates suggest that a very large portion of the global population experiences loneliness or depression to some degree. It is one of the most widespread challenges we face.

At the last AI for Good Africa summit, a significant number of robotics demonstrations focused on companionship or mental health support. Shortly afterward, I was invited to speak at a large retirement community. The residents had read Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro and asked about the technologies described in it.

I showed them examples of robots from the summit, some designed for elder care, others for companionship. Many were surprised that these technologies already exist, at least in early forms. It highlights how quickly these developments are moving, and how important it is to think carefully about their role in human life.

I showed examples of robots designed to help address mental health challenges and support the development of social skills. What surprised me was that people were not resistant, they were frustrated that these tools were not already widely available. They were asking, “Why are we only hearing about this now? Why does someone else have access to this technology, but not us?” That reaction showed how quickly people recognize the value once they see it.

At the same time, the most effective AI solutions in mental health tend to be developed by therapists, psychologists, or specialists in fields like neurolinguistics, not by technologists alone. That is the challenge. Even now, one of the most common uses of systems like ChatGPT is for mental health support, even though they were not originally designed for that purpose. That creates both risk and opportunity.

Jacobsen: What speakers or parts of the summit are you most looking forward to in July?

Fontaine: I am looking forward to the after-party. On a more serious note, one speaker who always surprises me is will.i.am from the Black Eyed Peas. He is our AI Skills Coalition ambassador. I have been on several panels with him. You never know what he is going to say, but he always brings something new, original, thoughtful, and creative. He has a way of seeing things others do not and articulating them in unexpected ways. With around 800 speakers at the summit, he is one I know will always offer a fresh perspective.

Werner: I will give a more serious answer as well. I am especially looking forward to the Robotics for Good Challenge. It is a programme we run throughout the year, involving robotics competitions for students aged 10 to 18 in more than 60 countries, many of them in developing regions.

The winners are invited to Geneva, and that is where you truly see AI for Good in action. We are engaging the next generation of technologists, policymakers, and innovators, those who will shape or influence this technology in the future. It is incredibly inspiring to see young participants from countries such as Somalia or Tanzania, who approach technology with a positive and open mindset.

Children see these technologies differently. For some, they are already a norm; for others, they represent opportunity. It reminds us that these are the generations who will live with the decisions we are making now. That is why it is important to involve them and remain mindful of their perspectives.

Sahota: I am really looking forward to the exhibit hall. It is remarkable to see what people are building and thinking about. We often hear about major companies, OpenAI, Microsoft, Google, but what stands out to me is what individuals and smaller teams are doing.

What I have learned, especially through the African community, is that local problems often have global relevance. People are building solutions for their own communities, whether in food security, education, or workforce development, but those solutions can scale globally.

No single person or organization is going to solve something like climate change alone. There is no “silver bullet.” Progress comes from combining many small innovations that collectively move the needle. That is what you see in the exhibit hall, and that is what I find most exciting.

Jacobsen: There are many more questions we could explore in depth, but we are out of time. My mind is still processing everything. Neil, Kseniia, Frederic, thank you all for your time. It was a pleasure meeting you.

Werner: It was a pleasure. We hope you can join us in Geneva.

Sahota: Good to see you again.

Fontaine: Thank you.

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Scott Douglas Jacobsen is a Writer-Editor for The Good Men Project with more than 1,900 publications on the platform. He is the Founder and Publisher of In-Sight Publishing (ISBN: 978-1-0692343; 978-1-0673505) and Editor-in-Chief of In-Sight: Interviews (ISSN: 2369-6885). He writes for International Policy Digest (ISSN: 2332–9416), The Humanist (Print: ISSN, 0018-7399; Online: ISSN, 2163-3576), Basic Income Earth Network (UK Registered Charity 1177066), Humanist Perspectives (ISSN: 1719-6337), A Further Inquiry (SubStack), Vocal, Medium, The New Enlightenment Project, The Washington Outsider, rabble.ca, and other media. His bibliography index can be found via the Jacobsen Bank at In-Sight Publishing comprised of more than 10,000 articles, interviews, and republications, in more than 200 outlets. He has served in national and international leadership roles within humanist and media organizations, held several academic fellowships, and currently serves on several boards. He is a member in good standing in numerous media organizations, including the Canadian Association of Journalists, PEN Canada (CRA: 88916 2541 RR0001), and Reporters Without Borders (SIREN: 343 684 221/SIRET: 343 684 221 00041/EIN: 20-0708028), and others.