Decision-making on an AI-supported youth mental health app: A multilogue among ethicists, social scientists, AI-researchers, biomedical engineers, young experiential experts, and psychiatrists

Authors Dorothee Horstkötter, Mariël Kanne, Simona Karbouniaris, Noussair Lazrak, Maria Bulgheroni, Ella Sheltawy, Laura Giani, Margherita La Gamba, Esmeralda Ruiz Pujadas, Marina Camacho, Finty Royle, Irene Baggetto, Sinan Guloksuz, Bart Rutten, Jim van Os
Published in Journal of Responsible Technology
Publication date 2025
Research groups Participatie Zorg en Ondersteuning
Type Article

Summary

This article explores the decision-making processes in the ongoing development of an AI-supported youth mental health app. Document analysis reveals decisions taken during the grant proposal and funding phase and reflects upon reasons why AI is incorporated in innovative youth mental health care. An innovative multilogue among the transdisciplinary team of researchers, covering AI-experts, biomedical engineers, ethicists, social scientists, psychiatrists and young experts by experience points out which decisions are taken how. This covers i) the role of a biomedical and exposomic understanding of psychiatry as compared to a phenomenological and experiential perspective, ii) the impact and limits of AI-co-creation by young experts by experience and mental health experts, and iii) the different perspectives regarding the impact of AI on autonomy, empowerment and human relationships. The multilogue does not merely highlight different steps taken during human decision-making in AI-development, it also raises awareness about the many complexities, and sometimes contradictions, when engaging in transdisciplinary work, and it points towards ethical challenges of digitalized youth mental health care.

On this publication contributed

Language Engels
Published in Journal of Responsible Technology
Year and volume 2025 100119
Key words AI-supported mental health care, autonomy, biomedicine, co-creation, digital mental health, epistemic pluralism, Ethics, EU-funding, expertise by experience, human-decision making, judicial regulations, multilogue, trans-disciplinary development, youth mental health care
Digital Object Identifier 10.1016/j.jrt.2025.100119