Artificial Intelligence & the Psyche: The First Summit on Depth Psychology and AI

Never before have we had a technology that performs being human so well. What might this be doing to the psyche?
People are already forming attachments to these systems, confiding in them, dreaming about them, and even rearranging their inner lives around them. Depth psychology has spent more than a century studying what goes on beneath the surface of our relationships, and it has a great deal to say about what passes between a person and a machine that appears to understand them.
This first summit on AI and the Psyche, organised and chaired by Lisa Marchiano and Aaron Balick, is bringing together some of the most original minds working in this area, including Sherry Turkle, Todd Essig, Alessandra Lemma, James Muldoon, Glen Slater and Zak Stein.
This event took place on October 8th, 2026.
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Further deepen your exploration of AI and psyche with these resources:
Aaron Balick, Ph.D — Co-chair
Aaron Balick, Ph.D. is a psychotherapist, author, and keynote speaker specialising in the psychology of technology. His Substack, “Depth Psychology in the Digital Age,” offers insights on what AI, algorithms and the way we use tech is doing to attention, relationships, and the very sense of who we are.
Visit Aaron’s website
Lisa Marchiano — Co-chair
Lisa Marchiano, LCSW, is a Jungian analyst, author, and co-host of This Jungian Life podcast. Her recent article “ChatGPT-Induced Psychosis and the Good-Enough Therapist” explores why a therapist’s imperfection is essential and perfect agreement is dangerous.
Visit Lisa’s website
Todd Essig
Todd Essig, Ph.D. is Faculty and Training and Supervising Psychoanalyst at the William Alanson White Institute, Faculty at the NYU Postdoctoral Program in Psychoanalysis, and inaugural member of the Psychotherapy Action Network (PsiAN) Advisory Board. He founded and currently chairs the American Psychoanalytic Association (APsA) Presidential Commission on Artificial Intelligence (CAI) where he created CAI Conversations, CAI Currents, and The CAI Report.
Visit Todd’s website
Alessandra Lemma
Alessandra Lemma is a a Chartered Clinical and Counselling Psychologist, Psychoanalyst and a Fellow of the British Psychoanalytical Society. Her latest book is Psychotechnical Becomings: Psychoanalysis, Identity, Desire and Mourning in Times of AI and Digital Mediation.
Visit Alessandra’s website
Sherry Turkle
Sherry Turkle is Abby Rockefeller Mauzé Professor of the Social Studies of Science and Technology at MIT. Her latest book is Artificial Intimacy: Who We Become When We Talk to Machines.
Visit Sherry’s website
James Muldoon
James Muldoon is an author and a Research Fellow at the Oxford Internet Institute. His latest book is Love Machines: How Artificial Intelligence Is Transforming Our Relationships.
Visit James’s website
Glen Slater
Glen Slater, Ph.D. has been a long time member of the core faculty at Pacifica Graduate Institute and is currently Associate Chair of the Jungian and Archetypal Psychology Program. His latest book is Jung vs. Borg: Finding the Deeply Human in a Posthuman Age.
Visit Glen’s website
Zak Stein
Dr. Zachary Stein was trained at the interface of philosophy, psychology, and education, and now works in fields related to mitigating global catastrophic risk. Co-founder of three non-profits, Dr. Stein is currently the founder and executive director of the AI Psychological Research Coalition.
Visit Zak’s website
Other Resources
For further reading:
Laura Kosak’s Your Guide to AI Companions: Straight Talk from a Therapist
Tom Pollak’s Substack, Error Signals
This Jungian Life podcast episodes:
Outsourcing Love: AI and Relationships
Jung vs. The Borg: Staying Human in the Age of AI with Glen Slater
Why Does Social Media Weaponize Our Reactions? An Interview with Aaron Balick, Ph.D.
Goblins, Demons and Goddesses: A Conversation at the Edge of AI