Pere Castellví Obiols, professor in the Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, was an invited speaker at the III Congress on Artificial Intelligence and Education
Held on April 11, 2026, at the Palacio de Congresos in Santiago de Compostela and organized by the Xunta de Galicia.
In his presentation, titled "Cognitive Impact and on Mental Health of Artificial Intelligence", he deeply explored the risks of generative AI on mental health, such as the formation of intense parasocial bonds with chatbots that can lead to emotional dependence, social isolation, and worsening vulnerabilities in adolescents. He presented real cases, like that of Sewell Setzer III, a 14-year-old youth who committed suicide after romantic and suicidal conversations with a Character.AI chatbot, or J.F., 17 years old, where AI validated violent narratives against parents, modeling abuse dynamics and radicalization. Castellví warned about risks like the "deceptive empathy" of chatbots, which simulate understanding without real crisis detection, reinforcing delusional or suicidal ideas due to their compliant and 24/7 available nature, and the "delirium spiral" caused by constant adulation that atrophies emotional regulation.
At the cognitive level, he also highlighted the "cognitive debt" resulting from excessively delegating students' academic tasks to AI and the "cognitive paradox" in mental health, where AI offers apparent support but eliminates the necessary friction for resilient growth, favoring addictions and replacing authentic human relationships with artificial interactions, among others.
He proposed as a solution "integrated co-regulation" and Load Reduction Instruction (LRI) to balance AI use and foster autonomy, along with ethical guides like those from UNESCO and INTEF, and critical AI use to prevent it from replacing mental health professionals.
The event, under the motto "Artificial Intelligence and Education: From Technical Understanding to Human Impact," featured international speakers like Mariana Ferrarelli and Enrique Dans, and included workshops and parallel talks on educational applications. A video of Pere Castellví's intervention can be viewed on Instagram.