PRINCETON, N.J., Feb. 25, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — The world is crossing a new bridge spanning human and artificial intelligence. Two minds, one human, one not. Can we keep them both healthy? Putting it another way, is artificial intelligence a benefit or threat to workplace mental wellness? Bill Wilkerson, LL. D. (Hon), a driving force to expand workplace mental health and Professor of International Mental Health at McMaster University in Canada, will draw upon his research on mental health in the era of artificial intelligence to address this question. He will share his findings in a keynote presentation on April 6, 2019 at a conference on “Promoting Mental Wellness in the Workplace.” Organized by nonprofit Mental Wellness Coalition, NJ, the conference venue is the Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center in Plainsboro, NJ. Dr. Wilkerson’s preliminary conclusions are as follows:

Threat to Jobs and Worker Mental Health

AI poses a genuine threat to the mental health of hundreds of millions of workers. As AI expands into the global job market, it is raising concerns of job displacement, job loss and malignant uncertainty. This is producing the kind of embedded human distress that is a principal cause of psychiatric disease. According to the American Psychiatric Association Foundation, “1 in 5 adults will experience a diagnosable mental illness in any given year.”

CEO Leadership and Empathetic Management

Increasing productivity by replacing people with machines to save money must not be the paramount management mindset. Instead, management must follow guidelines for mental health in the era of artificial intelligence.

Potential to Create Jobs But Employees Must Be Prepared

AI also has the potential to create new kinds of jobs – even uplifting ones — while drawing upon skills of creativity, critical thinking and good judgment for readied employees if – a big if – employers voluntarily or by law train their people for this formidable and daunting future.

SOURCE Mental Wellness Coalition, NJ