Season 3 Episode 7: Digital Frontiers, Peers & Lived Experience: Leveraging AI and Tech in the Behavioral Health Workforce

This Listening Session explores the rapidly evolving intersection of high-tech innovation and the deeply personal landscape of recovery. As behavioral health systems increasingly look toward high-tech solutions for Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) prevention and treatment, this session explores how technology is no longer just a tool for communication but a primary intervention. Participants will engage with app developers and AI researchers to examine how machine learning models that are trained on the nuanced behavioral data of lived experience communities are being leveraged to predict recovery trajectories and provide real-time support.Attendees will explore the practicalities and ethical nuances of “automated empathy,” including the use of GPS geofencing to activate supportive nudges in high-risk locations and Virtual Reality (VR) environments designed for cue-exposure therapy and de-escalation training. The session will facilitate a dialogue on whether these advancements strengthen the provider-client bond or create new barriers to authentic connection. Grounded in the goal of sustainable work-life integration for the workforce, participants will leave with a sophisticated understanding of how to integrate emerging technologies into traditional workflows without compromising safety, ethics, and human-centered approaches.