At the 2024 APA Annual Meeting in New York, NY, there will be 35 sessions on technology and mental health. In staying with the theme of ‘Confronting Addiction from Prevention to Recovery’, the technology sub-committee has invited Brandon Bergman, Ph.D., and Alex Russell, Ph.D., to speak on the role of online support groups in substance use treatment, Dr. John Torous regarding app use in the treatment of substance use disorders, and Brian Kiluk, Ph.D. on web-based CBT for alcohol and substance use disorders.

Our APA President, Dr. Levounis will be speaking on technology addiction, which will be complemented by an invited presidential session on TikTok and Instagram Addiction in Children, presented by Ashvin Sood, M.D., and Mark Potenza, Ph.D., M.D. Smita Das, M.D., Ph.D., M.Ph., will be also speaking on telemedicine and addiction, the potential implications for marginalized populations. Along those lines, Marian Tepper, M.D., chairs a session on how non-specialist providers can augment specialty behavioral health workforce to provide care to under-resourced populations with substance use problems.

For attendees looking to gain a better understand of artificial intelligence, there are several sessions on this popular topic. John Torous, M.D., will provide an overview on AI use in clinical practice, Dora Calcott Wang, M.D., will review the ethics in using AI, and Jacques Ambrose, M.D., will discuss how AI can be used to combat addictions in communities of color. Dr. Ambrose will also be featured in the Innovation Zone to discuss Ethics, Equity, and Errors in AI. In the invited presidential session, Jordan Smoller, M.D., will review AI and machine learning in predicting suicide. Darlene King, M.D., chairs a session on health equity and digital divide in the age of augmented intelligence.

Social media continues to be a mainstay subject at the annual meeting. In an invited presidential session, Sandra De Jong, M.D., and Nishi Bhopal, M.D., will provide an overview how social media has impacted mental health. Ashvin Sood, M.D., has been invited by the RFM Committee to discuss ethics in social media, which promises to be an enlightening presentation. Avani Patel, M.D., MHA chairs a session on professional development with social media use and Simone Bernstein, M.D., chairs a session on problematic social media use. Check the annual meeting program for many more social media sessions!

These are just a few highlights of the ‘technology track’ at the 2024 APA Annual Meeting. It is a joint effort of the technology sub-committee, general sessions sub-committee, resident-fellow member committee, and members of the scientific program committee. Speaking for myself, crafting this track has been a ‘labor of love’ that epitomizes my career focus on education in the use of technology in psychiatric practice. I will see you there!

By John Luo, M.D.