Experts Outline Path for Responsible AI in Mental Health

On 29 January 2026, more than 30 international experts in artificial intelligence, mental health, ethics, and public policy convened for an online workshop hosted by the Delft Digital Ethics Centre (DDEC) at the Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) – the first World Health Organization Collaborating Centre focused on AI for health governance, including ethical considerations.

Held as an official pre-summit event of the India AI Impact Summit 2026, with support from the World Health Organization, the workshop convened researchers, policymakers, clinicians, and advocates. Dr. Alain Labrique, Director of WHO's Department of Data, Digital Health, Analytics, and AI, noted: 'As AI increasingly interacts with people in moments of emotional vulnerability, we at WHO and its stakeholders must ensure these systems are designed and governed with safety, accountability, and human well-being at their core.'

Central among these challenges is the increasing reliance on generative AI tools—neither specifically designed nor evaluated for mental health purposes—for emotional support, especially among young individuals, and the potentially significant risks this may present. 'We are at a critical juncture,' remarked Sameer Pujari, WHO's AI Lead. 'The speed at which AI is being integrated into people's daily lives has greatly exceeded the investment in comprehending its effects on mental health. Bridging that gap necessitates coordinated efforts and dedicated resources from both the public and private sectors.'

Underscoring the importance of cross-disciplinary collaboration, Dr. Kenneth Carswell of WHO’s Department of Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health added: 'Minimizing risks from generative AI for mental health while maximizing benefits requires bringing together the voices of those most affected, clinical and research expertise, governance and regulatory frameworks, and data to inform understanding. WHO is committed to ensuring that users’ well-being stays at the center as these tools evolve.'

The workshop distilled these discussions into three principal recommendations.

More broadly, the workshop illustrated how the WHO Collaborating Centre mechanism has become a critical pillar in implementing the WHO’s vision for responsible AI in health. Through this mechanism, the WHO mobilizes world-class academic expertise and convenes diverse international stakeholders to generate evidence-based recommendations in support of its standard-setting role. As Dr. Stefan Buijsman, managing director of the DDEC, noted, 'As a WHO Collaborating Centre, we can increase impact by collaborating with experts around the world, domain experts, and governments.'

WHO is establishing a Consortium of Collaborating Centres on AI for Health, a network of leading institutions across all six WHO regions, to support Member States in the responsible adoption of AI. A pre-convening of candidate consortium members took place on March 17–19, 2026, at TU Delft, where institutions aligned on shared priorities and agreed on initial collaboration mechanisms to build the collaborative infrastructure needed to ensure that AI governance in health is grounded in evidence, ethics, and the needs of diverse populations worldwide.