Angela Livingstone – The Sun Still Exists: AI Won’t Replace Psychiatrists – But May Expose Us – Future Day 2026

It’s an enormous pleasure to have had Angela Livingstone present for us at Future Day 2026!

One of the most pressing questions isn’t just what AI can do, but what it should be to us. We are thrilled to welcome psychiatrist Angela Livingstone to help us unpack the “almost-human” phenomenon. She takes us on a journey from the warnings of C.S. Lewis to the satirical “golden retriever studies” of John Ellard. She argues that the future of psychiatry isn’t about competing with AI’s efficiency, but reclaiming the human core that a machine simply cannot replicate.

Abstract

As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly embedded in everyday life, many people are turning to AI systems for emotional support, guidance, and even quasi-therapeutic conversations. This shift raises profound questions about the future of psychiatry as a profession. This presentation explores the “almost-human” phenomenon through a literary, clinical, and ethical lens, beginning with C. S. Lewis’s warning about things that imitate humanity without possessing its essence.

Drawing on contemporary examples of AI-mediated support, the talk examines why people are gravitating toward AI: immediacy, non-judgment, accessibility, and consistency. It then outlines the genuine strengths of AI — psychoeducation, behavioural prompts, cognitive reframing, and pattern recognition — while highlighting the domains where AI reaches a hard limit: attunement, moral imagination, relational repair, cultural understanding, and advocacy.

The presentation argues that psychiatry’s future depends on reclaiming its human core rather than competing with AI on technical tasks. Using John Ellard’s satirical “golden retriever study,” it critiques reductionist approaches to psychotherapy research and warns against measuring only what AI can replicate.

A dedicated section explores the unique vulnerabilities and opportunities for neurodivergent individuals, who may be unusually helped — or harmed — by AI therapy. The talk concludes by proposing a hybrid model in which AI becomes the “front door” to care, while psychiatrists serve as deep relational specialists. Ultimately, it asserts that the future of psychiatry is not less human, but more human than ever.

Bio

Angela studied Medicine at Melbourne University, then completed her speciality training at St Vincent’s Hospital. She worked at one time in the Victorian Office of the Chief Psychiatrist, and since 2008 has specialised in the area of intellectual disability psychiatry with the Victorian Dual Disability Service, particularly in the psychopharmacology of people with intellectual disability and autism spectrum disorder. In addition, she has a decades-long commitment to supporting rural psychiatry.

Her interests outside of medicine and psychiatry include classical violin, ballroom dance and costuming. She is also strongly interested in the concept of spare time and would love to know the location of a stockist.