The CAI Report

Insights and Commentary at the Intersection of Psychoanalysis and AI

The Council on Artificial Intelligence (CAI)
Todd Essig, PhD + Amy Levy, PsyD | Co-Chairs 

The Department of Psychoanalytic Education (DPE)
James Barron, PhD | Head
Paula Christian-Kliger, PhD | Associate Head 

The CAI Report
Alexander Stein, PhD | Editor-in-Chief

 

The CAI Report is a publication of The Council on Artificial Intelligence and offers psychoanalytic perspectives on issues involving AI’s uses, applications, risks, and benefits to individuals and in society. Our aim is that The Report will meaningfully contribute to the global conversations about the human and social dimensions of AI, and be a trusted resource for mental health professionals, folks in the technology space, and the general public.

The Council on Artificial Intelligence (CAI) operates within The American Psychoanalytic Association’s Department of Psychoanalytic Education (DPE). The Council’s mission is to study AI and, based on those studies, develop projects focused on connections between AI and psychoanalytic education, theory, and practice. We respond nimbly to accelerating developments in AI with a focus on practical, implementable projects relevant to psychoanalytic education and to the broader psychoanalytic community.

Issue 3 | April 2025

From the Editor
by Alexander Stein, PhD

A Note from the Co-Chairs of the Council on Artificial Intelligence
by Todd Essig, PhD + Amy Levy, PsyD

Dear Dr. Danielle (a psychoanalyst answers your questions about human-AI relations)
Bewildered
by Danielle Knafo, PhD

Are Translators Necessary? A Case Against AI
By Kenneth Kronenberg

Frontiers in AI & Mental Health: Research & Clinical Considerations
Are Therapy Chatbots Effective for Depression and Anxiety? A Critical Comparative Review
by Christopher Campbell, MD Candidate (Medical University of South Carolina)

When Chatbots Go Awry: Could Psychoanalytic Education for AI Developers and Designers Make a Difference?
by Karyne E. Messina, PhD

HIMIsphere: At the Boundary of Human Intelligence and Machine Intelligence: Broad-Spectrum Psychoanalysis and Externalized Family Systems
by Robert Hsiung, MD

The Fantasy of Machine-Assisted Authorship
by Topher Rasmussen, MSW

 

Issue 2 | March 2025

From the Editor
by Alexander Stein, PhD

A Note from the Co-Chairs of the Council on Artificial Intelligence
by Todd Essig, PhD + Amy Levy, PsyD

Useful Reads
“I’m Not A Robot”
by Robert C Hsiung, MD

Dear Dr. Danielle (a psychoanalyst answers your questions about human-AI relations)
Guilty and Abashed
by Danielle Knafo, PhD

Frontiers in AI & Mental Health: Research & Clinical Considerations
Dr ChatGPT? Assessing the Mental Health Care Capabilities of Chatbots
by Christopher Campbell, MD Candidate (Medical University of South Carolina)

Artificial Intelligence & Psychoanalytic Research
Walking the Tight Rope: Bridging Machine Learning and Psychoanalysis
by Ilana Gratch

From the Thick of It: A Report from Fathom’s Ashby Workshops
by Todd Essig, PhD

Refractions in the Digital Mirror—Using Psychoanalysis to Understand and Address AI Bias
by Karyne E. Messina, PhD

 

Issue 1 | January 2025

A Note from the Co-Chairs of the Council on Artificial Intelligence
by Todd Essig, PhD + Amy Levy, PsyD

Editor’s Introduction: What AI Can and Can’t Do and How Psychoanalysis Can Help
by Alexander Stein, PhD

Useful Reads
“Narcissistic Depressive Technoscience” by Thomas Fuchs, The New Atlantis, Spring 2024
by Todd Essig, PhD

The New Other: Alien Intelligence and The Innovation Drive
An excerpt from a forthcoming book
by Amy Levy, PsyD

Leveraging AI for Suicide Risk Prediction
Frontiers in AI & Mental Health: Research & Clinical Considerations
by Christopher Campbell, MD Candidate (Medical University of South Carolina)

Artificial Intelligence and Actual Psychoanalysis
Commentary on a CAI Workshop
by Valerie Frankfeldt, PhD

THE AMERICAN PSYCHOANALYTIC ASSOCIATION

President
DANIEL W. PREZANT

President-Elect
BONNIE J. BUCHELE

Secretary
CAROLINE M. SEHON

Treasurer
JULIO G. CALDERON

Executive Director
THOMAS H. NEWMAN

For more information, please email apsa.cai.report@gmail.com.

Copyright © 2025 The American Psychoanalytic Association. All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the written permission of the American Psychoanalytic Association.

The American Psychoanalytic Association does not hold itself responsible for statements made by contributors in The CAI Report. Unless otherwise stated, content in The CAI Report does not reflect the endorsement, official attitude, or position of the American Psychoanalytic Association