Biography
Dr. Ghazaleh Samandari is a behavioral scientist and the founder of Vera. Her work focuses on the human side of technology: how AI reshapes behavior, wellbeing and society, and how organizations can design technology experiences that keep people at the center. She brings a behavioral-science lens to the conversation on building a future with AI that serves both people and the planet.
Session
- AI For GoodSpeaker
Panel 7 - Healing or Hooking? AI's Double Edge on Mental Health & Wellbeing
Tuesday 22 September, 14:45 – 15:25Panel StageSame AI, two opposite stories. On one side: AI therapy companions making mental health support 24/7 and accessible, mood-tracking that catches a crisis early, mindfulness coaches in your pocket, generative tools that help people process trauma. On the other: recommendation systems wired to maximise screen time, dopamine engineering disguised as engagement, attention economies that reward outrage, and AI companions that quietly replace human connection. Where does the line sit between AI helping us thrive and AI hooking us into something that costs more than it gives? Builders, clinicians and behavioural scientists argue out what 'wellbeing' should actually mean in an algorithmic world — and who pays the bill when it goes wrong.
With Katya de Freedericksz, Marvyn Halfon, Shayamal Vallabhjee