AI, Health and Well-being Workshop, Cambridge, UK

This inaugural workshop on AI, Health Well-being would explore the potential benefits, impact and implications of AI systems and tools for good mental health, especially for adults living with autism. The workshop is hosted by Cambridge Creative Synergy (CCS) in collaboration with other community groups, resonation.org.uk, songwriting.org, Cambridge LASER, Rhythm Network (CRASSH), and is being sponsored by the AI&Society Journal (Springer). Cambridge Creative Synergy is an independent and mutually supportive group promoting good mental health and well-being for people living with neuro diversity and mental health difficulties.

People with neuro-diversity are already using AI systems as companions or confidants, often in moments of acute vulnerability, and some models rely on constant validation to keep users engaged. Although this validation may be considered essential to making clinical diagnoses, there is a danger that economic pressures may encourage these AI systems to be used to replace compassionate carers and therapists rather than to augment their work. There is a further danger with AI systems that focus on designing interactions for an individual, as these may not take into account the social and health networks, e.g. family members, the GP, community groups, etc, that the ‘individual exists within, and consider how to engage them to better support the individual.

There is a growing urgency to create and promote AI technologies that support empathic awareness, and mutually supportive relations, that create and serve healing spaces, that build confidence by mentoring social and communication skills as well as therapeutic interventions, and that foster therapeutic alliances. This Workshop will bring together health care users, carers, practitioners, researchers, professional and policy makers to share their experiences of good mental health and what AI should do to improve well-being. The workshop will explore the following:

· Emotional and psychological impacts of interacting with AI, including both positive effects (such as reduced stigma or increased comfort with virtual support) and negative reactions (such as anxiety, confusion, or over-reliance on the non-human advice).

· Inclusive AI for health and well-being for everyone: Designing AI agents that work well for all users – including people with neurodiversity, for different languages and different tech skill levels.

· Learning from Users: How AI performance can improve over time; exploring ways AI agents can learn from interactions with ‘users’.

· Multi-modal AI for health and well-being (AI agents that can use speech, vision and gestures to better interact with humans).

The workshop Programme (indicative): 4 July 2026

· Introduction and Opening Remarks

· Introductory talks/ wellbeing therapeutic experiences

Themes: Compassion, Companionship, Empathy, Music, Body Movement

· Group Discussions/Sharing Experiences

· Panel Discussion

· Breaks: Teas/Coffee

· Communal Lunch

· End of the workshop: Tea/Coffee- Networking

Invitation

We welcome carers, practitioners, and researchers to join us and share their experience and ideas. You are most welcome to send a brief abstract by 19th June (max 100 words)

Contact: Satinder Gill, Cambridge LASER@CRASSH, Cambridge University ([email protected])

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