AI Insight
Felix Schoeller's research team developed a realistic AI-powered chatbot designed to train facilitators involved in psychedelic drug research. The system simulates patient interactions to help prepare practitioners for the psychological and procedural demands of guiding participants through psychoactive drug sessions. This approach aims to address a critical bottleneck in the field, namely the shortage of adequately trained facilitators needed to conduct rigorous clinical research.
Why it matters
A scalable AI training tool could accelerate the expansion of psychedelic-assisted therapy research by reducing dependence on costly and time-intensive human-based training programs. If validated, this methodology could improve both the quality and safety of clinical trials involving psychoactive substances, with broader implications for mental health treatment development.
Understand the Science
Nature, Published online: 21 May 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01467-y
Félix Schoeller’s team built a realistic artificial-intelligence chatbot to train facilitators needed for research into psychoactive drugs — and, ultimately, to improve public health.
Source: How we’re using AI tools to improve psychedelic-drug research