Speaker invited by Prof. Jakob N. Kather
Associate Professor Venkat Bhat, MD MSc | University of Toronto
Generative AI in Psychiatry: From Chatbots to Clinical Orchestration
Generative AI is rapidly evolving from simple chatbot interfaces to multi-agent systems capable of supporting triage, workflow augmentation, and clinical decision-making in psychiatry. This presentation provides an overview of current and emerging perspectives on generative AI applications across clinical care, education, research synthesis, and quality improvement, highlighting both empirical findings and real-world implementation challenges. The session concludes with a staged, human-in-the-loop roadmap outlining assistive, collaborative, and semi-autonomous models of care for the responsible integration of generative and agentic AI into psychiatric practice, with a focus on safety, governance, and clinical accountability.
Venkat Bhat, MD MSc FRCPC DABPN MBA is a psychiatrist, clinician-scientist, and Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto. He leads the AI for Mental Health (AI-M) Program and serves as the national Mental Health Community of Practice Lead at the Temerty Centre for AI in Medicine (T-CAIREM) at the University of Toronto, advancing AI for mental health and at the interface of mental health and medical illness. He directs federally funded, interdisciplinary initiatives that bring stakeholders across Canada together in areas including wellness and resilience, depression, and PTSD, emphasizing the bidirectional relationship between AI and neuroscience and the safe, equitable, and scalable integration of AI into clinical care, education, and research.
