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 2 | March 2025
From the Editor
by Alexander Stein, PhDA Note from the Co-Chairs of the Council on Artificial Intelligence
by Todd Essig, PhD + Amy Levy, PsyDUseful Reads
“I’m Not A Robot”
by Robert C Hsiung, MDDear Dr. Danielle (a psychoanalyst answers your questions about human-AI relations)
Guilty and Abashed
by Danielle Knafo, PhDFrontiers 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 GratchFrom the Thick of It: A Report from Fathom’s Ashby Workshops
by Todd Essig, PhDRefractions 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, PsyDEditor’s Introduction: What AI Can and Can’t Do and How Psychoanalysis Can Help
by Alexander Stein, PhDUseful Reads
“Narcissistic Depressive Technoscience” by Thomas Fuchs, The New Atlantis, Spring 2024
by Todd Essig, PhDThe New Other: Alien Intelligence and The Innovation Drive
An excerpt from a forthcoming book
by Amy Levy, PsyDLeveraging 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.
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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