Curiosity Brews - AI Is Not Your Therapist: Engineered Empathy & Real Harm

Join us for an engaging evening where makers, trailblazers, practitioners, and obsessive deep‑dive thinkers share their most captivating stories at your local bar in Houston!

Hosted by Curiosity Brews.

🗓️ Date: May 26, 2026

🕡 Talk at 7:00 PM (Doors Open at 6:30 PM)

📍 Location: Garden Oaks, Houston, TX. Exact address given in confirmation email

📚 Talk: "A.I. Is Not Your Therapist: Engineered Empathy and Real Harm"

🎤 Speaker: Dr. Paige Freeman, Ph.D is a licensed psychologist with over 20 years of experience.

DESCRIPTION:

Millions of people are turning to AI when they feel anxious, overwhelmed, or just need someone to talk to. It feels helpful. It's available at 3 AM, it never judges you, and it always has something reassuring to say. But what if that feeling of relief is actually making things worse? AI isn't just failing anxious people. In some ways, it's engineered to keep them stuck.

In this talk, Dr. Paige Freeman, a licensed psychologist, walks through what the current research actually says about AI and mental health, including clinical harm, dependence, privacy concerns, and the delay of real evidence-based care. She'll break down why avoidance initially gives you relief but almost always escalates overall anxiety. AI makes avoidance effortless. You get to feel like you're dealing with something when you're actually just dodging it. She'll show you exactly how that loop works and leave you with strategies that you can use right away.

SPEAKER BIO:

Dr. Paige Freeman, a member of the American Psychological Association and the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science, has a clinical focus on Anxiety Disorders, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, and family systems issues. She serves on and advises multiple healthcare boards, trains mental health professionals and physicians on biopsychosocial influences on health, and has been published on topics surrounding the intersection of psychology and healthcare. With 20+ years of experience, she employs evidence-based approaches with clients, including Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and Exposure and Response Prevention.

Grab a drink, meet curious minds, and explore interesting ideas at Curiosity Brews!

AGENDA

6:30 PM – Doors open: find a seat (open seating!), order food & drinks, and expect a bar line—arriving early is key

7:00 PM – Talk begins

7:45 PM – Audience Q&A

8:00 PM – Have 1:1 time with the speaker, mingle with fellow guests, and order another round

8:30 PM – Wrap up

*** A CAUSE CLOSE TO MY HEART ***

Curiosity Brews was launched by our very first speaker, Bridgette Mongeon — sculptor and founder of Houston Women's Hiking Group, a community of 20,000+ hikers. Hiking has personally been a lifeline for me, and Bridgette is now working on something ambitious: two life-size bronze statues honoring Emma "Grandma Gatewood," the remarkable 67-year-old grandmother who in 1955 became the first woman to solo thru-hike the entire Appalachian Trail. To honor that connection, I'm donating 5% of net proceeds from every Curiosity Brews event to this tribute. If her story moves you too, you can contribute directly at

- Jeanne Pi

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