The Cinematheque

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Mary Jia is a registered psychologist in Vancouver. She completed her PhD in Clinical Psychology at the University of British Columbia. She is currently clinical faculty at Adler University. One of her areas of speciality is working with first and second generation East Asian clients. She is interested in understanding identity within a cultural framework. She hopes to bring a psychological perspective to conversations about artificial intelligence and its impact on how we understand and connect with others.

Angela Ivy Leong is a Vancouver-based registered clinical counsellor, sex and relationship therapist, and psychedelic-assisted therapist. She is the founder of An Elegant Mind™ clinic and the KISSS™ Method. Her practice focuses on helping individuals and couples navigate intimacy, attachment, and human connection in an increasingly digital world. She recently presented the TEDxWest Vancouver talk “How AI Companions Are Destroying Human Intimacy,” exploring the impact of artificial intelligence on relationships and what remains uniquely human about connection.

Laura K. Nelson is an associate professor of sociology at the University of British Columbia where she also directs the Centre for Computational Social Science. She uses computational methods to study culture, gender, and institutions, with a particular interest in understanding the formation of collective identities. She is currently interested in how large language models (or AI) can help us recover traces of collective mentalities across historical and contemporary populations.

John-Jose Nunez is a psychiatrist and assistant professor in the departments of psychiatry and computer science. His lab applies artificial intelligence to help patients with mental illness and cancer, with projects spanning chatbots to help clinicians treat bipolar disorder to using machine learning to predict whether antidepressants will help or worsen a patient’s sexual function. A leader passionate about the effective and ethical use of AI, his roles include co-leading the UBC Psychiatry AI Collaboration and chairing the PHSA AI in Research Working Group.

Joseph Tham is a psychiatrist and clinical professor at the University of British Columbia. He is the assistant medical director of the BC Neuropsychiatry Program at UBC Hospital, the medical lead at the Ketamine Intervention Program, and also a clinical lead with the Psychiatric AI Collaboration at the UBC Department of Psychiatry with the intent of bridging AI technologies with clinical care and education.