Addressing Mental Health in AI Research

Addressing Mental Health in AI Research

Recently, I finished my PhD and finally had some time to reflect on my experience. Over these years, I had a lot of fun and grew in ways that are impossible to summarize in this short post. However, I also experienced severe mental states that brought me down to places I never realized I could be. It was a profound and changing period, from which I was able to recover thanks to the support of the people around me, especially my partner, who also went through the same challenges during her PhD.

During my last year, I started asking around, trying to understand if this was a general feeling or just me. And wouldn’t you know, many of the peers I asked shared the same feelings. Some more, some less, but we were all going through a tough period. Every time I talked to someone new, I could sense a feeling of relief, like they were finally able to open up about it. This widespread experience motivated me to dig deeper and see if there was any existing research on the topic.

Statistics on Academic Mental Health

Looking at the literature, I felt both validated and angry. Here’s what I found:

• 37% of academic staff indicated a mental health disorder (RAND Europe report, 2017).
• Graduate students are six times more likely to experience symptoms of depression and anxiety compared to the general population (Evans et al., 2018).
• Over 20% of postdocs show signs of moderate to severe clinical depression, which is three times higher than in the general population (Max Planck Survey Report, 2022).
• 50% of academics experience mental health issues such as anxiety, psychological distress, depression, and burnout (Halat D. et al., 2023).

Taking Action

Statistics on academic mental health are concerning, but they don’t necessarily capture the specific pressures faced by researchers in rapidly evolving fields like AI. This is especially important to consider because the fast pace of progress, constant innovation, and pressure to publish can significantly impact mental well-being. So we’re conducting a survey with the CNR IRIB Messina - Istituto per la Ricerca e l’Innovazione Biomedica del CNR (David Vagni) to understand these challenges for researchers. By sharing your experiences, you can help us gather the necessary data to develop support systems and raise awareness. The survey takes about 20 minutes and is completely confidential: https://lnkd.in/dbDNFX2e

References

• • Evans, T., Bira, L., Gastelum, J. et al. (2018). Evidence for a mental health crisis in graduate education. Nat Biotechnol 36, 282–284. https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt.4089
• • Spotlight on 2017. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2018. https://www.rand.org/pubs/corporate_pubs/CP531-2017.html.
• • Russell, N. J., Schaare, H. L., Bellón Lara, B., Dang, Y., Feldmeier-Krause, A., Meemken, M.-T., et al. (2023). Max Planck PostdocNet Survey Report 2022. doi:10.17617/2.3507886.
• • Hammoudi Halat D, Soltani A, Dalli R, Alsarraj L, Malki A. Understanding and Fostering Mental Health and Well-Being among University Faculty: A Narrative Review. J Clin Med. 2023 Jun 30;12(13):4425. doi:10.3390/jcm12134425. PMID: 37445459; PMCID: PMC10342374.