Ethical opportunities and challenges of AI in mental health in Latin America
Palabras clave:
Artificial Intelligence, Mental Health, Ethics, Latin America, Innovation, approachResumen
Artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a promising alternative to address the mental health crisis in Latin America and the Caribbean, characterized by a high prevalence of disorders, a shortage of professionals, and profound structural inequalities. This study aims to critically analyze the opportunities, applications, and ethical challenges of AI in mental health within the regional context. Using a critical and integrative narrative review, academic literature and normative documents published between 2020 and 2025 are examined, including empirical studies, reviews, and regulatory frameworks relevant to the region. The results reveal an emerging landscape in predictive diagnosis, emotional monitoring, and chatbots, yet limited by algorithmic biases, the lack of representative data, and the absence of specific regulations. It is concluded that the effective implementation of AI in mental health requires a responsible development approach that articulates ethical governance, strengthening of local capacities, and sociocultural adaptation, prioritizing equity and protection of vulnerable populations.
Descargas
Citas
Cecil, J., Kleine, A., Lermer, E & Gaube, S. (2025). Mental health practitioners' perceptions and adoption intentions of AI-enabled technologies: an international mixed-methods study. BMC Health Services Research, 25. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-025-12715-8
Collins, G., Dhiman, P., Navarro, C., J., Hooft, L., Reitsma, J., Logullo, P., Beam, A., Peng, L., Van Calster, B., Van Smeden, M., Riley, R., & Moons, K. (2021). Protocol for development of a reporting guideline (TRIPOD-AI) and risk of bias tool (PROBAST-AI) for diagnostic and prognostic prediction model studies based on artificial intelligence. BMJ Open, 11. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-048008
Collins, G., Moons, K., Dhiman, P., Riley, R., Beam, A., Van Calster, B., Ghassemi, M., Liu, X., Reitsma, J., Van Smeden, M., Boulesteix, A., Camaradou, J., Celi, L., Denaxas, S., Denniston, A., Glocker, B., Golub, R., Harvey, H., Heinze, G., … Logullo, P. (2024). TRIPOD+AI statement: updated guidance for reporting clinical prediction models that use regression or machine learning methods. The BMJ, 385. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj-2023-078378
Daza, A., Saboya, N., Necochea-Chamorro, J. I., Zavaleta Ramos, K., & Vásquez Valencia, Y. del R. (2023). Systematic review of machine learning techniques to predict anxiety and stress in college students. Informatics in Medicine Unlocked, 43, 101391. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.imu.2023.101391
De Araujo Dourado, D., & Aith, F. (2022). The regulation of artificial intelligence for health in Brazil begins with the General Personal Data Protection Law. Revista de Saúde Pública, 56. https://doi.org/10.11606/s1518-8787.2022056004461
Elyoseph, Z., Gur, T., Haber, Y., Simon, T., Angert, T., Navon, Y., Tal, A., & Asman, O. (2024). An Ethical Perspective on the Democratization of Mental Health With Generative AI. JMIR Mental Health, 11. https://doi.org/10.2196/58011
Entenberg, G. A., Mizrahi, S., Walker, H., Aghakhani, S., Mostovoy, K., Carre, N., Marshall, Z., Dosovitsky, G., Benfica, D., Rousseau, A., Lin, G., & Bunge, E. L. (2023). AI-based chatbot micro-intervention for parents: Meaningful engagement, learning, and efficacy. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 14. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1080770
Eraso, I. (2024). Estado de la regulación colombiana a los sistemas de Gestión de Inteligencia Artificial y su aplicación en las organizaciones y entidades prestadoras de salud. Trabajo Fin de Máster, Universidad Europea. https://titula.universidadeuropea.com/bitstream/handle/20.500.12880/10985/TFM%20Isabella%20Eraso.pdf?isAllowed=y&sequence=1
Fanarioti, A., & Karpouzis, K. (2025). Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Mental Health in a Digitally Transformed World. Computers. https://doi.org/10.3390/computers14070259
Goktas, P., & Grzybowski, A. (2025). Shaping the Future of Healthcare: Ethical Clinical Challenges and Pathways to Trustworthy AI. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 14. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm14051605
Gómez Gaona, C. I., Mejía Rubio, A. del R., León Pérez, J. R., Rodríguez, J., Diago Alfes, Z., Muñoz Escobar, L. E., Inca, C., Yaguana Torres, J., & Arellano, M. V. (2025). Random Forest modeling of bipolar affective disorder in Ecuador. Salud, Ciencia Y Tecnología, 5, 1970. https://doi.org/10.56294/saludcyt20251970
Hoose, S., & Kristína, K. (2024). Artificial Intelligence in Mental Health Care: Management Implications, Ethical Challenges, and Policy Considerations. Administrative Sciences, 14(9), 227. https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci14090227
Ibrahim, H., Liu, X., Rivera, S., Moher, D., Chan, A., Sydes, M., Calvert, M., & Denniston, A. (2021). Reporting guidelines for clinical trials of artificial intelligence interventions: the SPIRIT-AI and CONSORT-AI guidelines. Trials, 22. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-020-04951-6
Jazayeri, D., Banfield, M., Tapp, C., Tjung, C., Stettaford, T., Stewart, V., Valuri, G., Chong, T., Cullen, P., McGrath, M., Cooper, R., Wheeler, A., Neil, A., Kisely, S., Bennett, J., Preen, D., Ao, S., Sanci, L., Baker, E., & Palmer, V. (2025). Capacity-building strategy for next-generation mental health research: embedding a national network infrastructure to grow mental health researcher capabilities and mental health lived-experience research leaders. BMJ Mental Health, 28. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjment-2025-301554
Kasaudhan, K. (2025). AI-Driven Tools for Detecting and Monitoring Mental Health Conditions Through Behaviour Patterns. International Journal of Preventive Medicine and Health. https://doi.org/10.54105/ijpmh.b1054.05030325
Katsina, A. (2024). Exploring digital therapeutics for mental health: AI-driven innovations in personalized treatment approaches. World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews. https://doi.org/10.30574/wjarr.2024.24.3.3997
Kleine, A., Kokje, E., Hummelsberger, P., Lermer, E., Schaffernak, I., & Gaube, S. (2024). AI-enabled clinical decision support tools for mental healthcare: A product review. Artificial intelligence in medicine, 160, 103052. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.artmed.2024.103052
Koutsouleris, N., Hauser, T., Skvortsova, V., & De Choudhury, M. (2022). From promise to practice: towards the realisation of AI-informed mental health care. The Lancet. Digital health. https://doi.org/10.1016/s2589-7500(22)00153-4
Liu, X., Cruz Rivera, S., Moher, D., Calvert, M. J., Denniston, A. K., & The SPIRIT-AI and CONSORT-AI Working Group. (2020). Reporting guidelines for clinical trial reports for interventions involving artificial intelligence: the CONSORT-AI extension. Nature Medicine, 26, 1364 - 1374. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-020-1034-x
Löchner, J., Carlbring, P., Schuller, B., Torous, J., & Sander, L. (2025). Digital interventions in mental health: An overview and future perspectives. Internet Interventions, 40. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.invent.2025.100824
Mancilla-Caceres, J., & Estrada-Villalta, S. (2022). The Ethical Considerations of AI in Latin America. Digital Society, 1. https://doi.org/10.1007/s44206-022-00018-y
Martindale, A., Ng, B., Ngai, V., Kale, A., Di Ruffano, L., Golub, R., Collins, G., Moher, D., Mccradden, M., Oakden-Rayner, L., Rivera, S., Calvert, M., Kelly, C., Lee, C., Yau, C., Chan, A., Keane, P., Beam, A., Denniston, A., & Liu, X. (2024). Concordance of randomised controlled trials for artificial intelligence interventions with the CONSORT-AI reporting guidelines. Nature Communications, 15. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-45355-3
Montenegro, C., Abarca-Brown, G., Flores, E., Susser, E., Rivera, E., Paniagua-Avila, A., Florence, A., & Mascayano, F. (2024). Researchers’ agency and the boundaries of global mental health: perspectives from and about Latin America. BMJ Global Health, 9. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2024-015923
Naik, P. (2023). Psychiatryai.com: An exploratory online Artificial Intelligence and Data Science platform to enable near real-time psychiatry and mental health evidence-based medical research and data dissemination. European Psychiatry, 66, S529 - S530. https://doi.org/10.1192/j.eurpsy.2023.1120
Ng, M., Helzer, J., Pfeffer, M., Seto, T., & Hernandez-Boussard, T. (2025). Development of secure infrastructure for advancing generative artificial intelligence research in healthcare at an academic medical center. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association: JAMIA, 32, 586 - 588. https://doi.org/10.1093/jamia/ocaf005
Olawade, D., Wada, O., Odetayo, A., David-Olawade, A., Asaolu, F., & Eberhardt, J. (2024). Enhancing Mental Health with Artificial Intelligence: Current Trends and Future Prospects. Journal of Medicine, Surgery, and Public Health. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.glmedi.2024.100099
Parra, M., Baez, S., Sedeño, L., Campo, C., Santamaría-García, H., Aprahamian, I., Bertolucci, P., Bustin, J., Bicalho, M., Cano-Gutierrez, C., Caramelli, P., Chaves, M., Cogram, P., Beber, B., Court, F., De Souza, L., Custodio, N., Damián, A., De La Cruz, M., … Ibáñez, A. (2020). Dementia in Latin America: Paving the way toward a regional action plan. Alzheimer's & Dementia, 17, 295 - 313. https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.12202
Pavlopoulos, A., Rachiotis, T & Maglogiannis I. (2024). An Overview of Tools and Technologies for Anxiety and Depression Management Using AI. Applied Sciences. https://doi.org/10.3390/app14199068
Paz, C., Dogmanas, D., & Behn, A. (2025). The time has come to implement routine outcome monitoring in mental health services across Latin America. Frontiers in Public Health, 13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1557029
Pesqueira, A., Pereira, R., Sousa, M., & Schwendinger, M. (2025). Designing and implementing SMILE: An AI-driven platform for enhancing clinical decision-making in mental health and neurodivergence management. Computational and Structural Biotechnology Journal, 27, 785 - 803. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csbj.2025.02.022
Ragusa, M., Tortosa, F., Monteiro, M., Saisó, S., & Reveiz, L. (2025). Health-related SDGs in the national science agendas of Latin America and the Caribbean: a scoping review. International Journal for Equity in Health, 24. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-024-02350-w
Ramírez-Bontá, F., Vásquez-Vílchez, R., Cabrera-Alva, M., Otazú-Alfaro, S., Almeida-Huanca, G., Ambrosio-Melgarejo, J., Figueroa-Quiñones, J., Romero-Cabrera, A., Cruz, A., Chávez-Hinostroza, E., Rosado-Medina, M., Siancas-Villano, W., Quintana-Castro, C., Bazo-Alvarez, J., & Villarreal-Zegarra, D. (2023). Mental health data available in representative surveys conducted in Latin America and the Caribbean countries: a scoping review. BMJ Open, 13. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2022-069861
Ruano, A., Rodriguez, D., Rossi, P., & Maceira, D. (2021). Understanding inequities in health and health systems in Latin America and the Caribbean: a thematic series. International Journal for Equity in Health, 20. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-021-01426-1
Rubeis, G. (2022). iHealth: The ethics of artificial intelligence and big data in mental healthcare. Internet Interventions, 28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.invent.2022.100518
Saeidnia, H., Fotami, S., Lund, B., & Ghiasi, N. (2024). Ethical Considerations in Artificial Intelligence Interventions for Mental Health and Well-Being: Ensuring Responsible Implementation and Impact. Social Sciences. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci13070381
Sánchez-Castro, J., González, L., Arias-Murcia, S., Mahecha-Bermeo, V., Stock, C., & Heinrichs, K. (2024). Mental health among adolescents exposed to social inequality in Latin America and the Caribbean: a scoping review. Frontiers in Public Health, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2024.1342361
Santamaria-Garcia, H., Sainz-Ballesteros, A., Hernandez, H., Moguilner, S., Maito, M., Ochoa-Rosales, C., Corley, M., Valcour, V., Mirand,a J., Lawlor, B & Ibanez A. (2023). Factors associated with healthy aging in Latin American populations. Nat Med 29, 2248–2258 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-023-02495-1
Shaw, J., Ali, J., Atuire, C., Cheah, P., Español, A., Gichoya, J., Hunt, A., Jjingo, D., Littler, K., Paolotti, D., & Vayena, E. (2024). Research ethics and artificial intelligence for global health: perspectives from the global forum on bioethics in research. BMC Medical Ethics, 25. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12910-024-01044-w
Sounderajah, V., Ashrafian, H., Golub, R., Shetty, S., De Fauw, J., Hooft, L., Moons, K., Collins, G., Moher, D., Bossuyt, P., Darzi, A., Karthikesalingam, A., Denniston, A., Mateen, B., Ting, D., Treanor, D., King, D., Greaves, F., Godwin, J., … Liu, X. (2021). Developing a reporting guideline for artificial intelligence-centred diagnostic test accuracy studies: the STARD-AI protocol. BMJ Open, 11. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-047709
Spytska, L. (2025). The use of artificial intelligence in psychotherapy: development of intelligent therapeutic systems. BMC Psychology, 13, 175. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-025-02491-9
Strudwick, G., Kassam, I., Torous, J., & Patenaude, S. (2025). Building the Infrastructure for Sustainable Digital Mental Health: It Is “Prime Time” for Implementation Science. JMIR Mental Health, 12. https://doi.org/10.2196/78791
Sussman, L., Garcia-Robledo, J., Ordóñez-Reyes, C., Forero, Y., Mosquera, A., Ruiz-Patiño, A., Chamorro, D., & Cardona, A. (2022). Integration of artificial intelligence and precision oncology in Latin America. Frontiers in Medical Technology, 4. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmedt.2022.1007822
Terán, M., Gómez Gaona, C., Alfes, Z., & Galarza Chicaiza, G. (2024). El papel de la inteligencia artificial en la promoción de la salud mental y el bienestar: una revisión sistemática. Polo del Conocimiento, 9(12), 1997-2014. https://polodelconocimiento.com/ojs/index.php/es/article/view/8598
Thieme, A., Hanratty, M., Lyons, M., Palacios, J., Marques, R., Morrison, C., & Doherty, G. (2022). Designing Human-centered AI for Mental Health: Developing Clinically Relevant Applications for Online CBT Treatment. ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction, 30, 1 - 50. https://doi.org/10.1145/3564752
Tornero-Costa, R., Martínez-Millana, A., Azzopardi-Muscat, N., Lazeri, L., Traver, V., & Novillo-Ortiz, D. (2023). Methodological and Quality Flaws in the Use of Artificial Intelligence in Mental Health Research: Systematic Review. JMIR Mental Health, 10. https://doi.org/10.2196/42045
Vielma-Aguilera, A., & Castro-Alzate, E. (2021). Interventions to reduce stigma toward people with severe mental disorders in Ibero-America: A systematic review. https://doi.org/10.12804/revistas.urosario.edu.co/revsalud/a.10054
Wang, X., Zhou, Y., & Zhou, G. (2024). The Application and Ethical Implication of Generative AI in Mental Health: Systematic Review. JMIR Mental Health, 12. https://doi.org/10.2196/70610
Wilhelm, C., Steckelberg, A., & Rebitschek, F. (2024). Benefits and harms associated with the use of AI-related algorithmic decision-making systems by healthcare professionals: a systematic review. The Lancet Regional Health - Europe, 48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanepe.2024.101145
Zavaleta‐Monestel, E., Anchía-Alfaro, A., Rojas-Chinchilla, C., Quesada-Loría, D., & Arguedas‐Chacón, S. (2025). Ethical and Practical Dimensions of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Healthcare: A Comprehensive Study of Professional Perceptions. Cureus, 17. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.78416
Zhang, M., Scandiffio, J., Younus, S., Jeyakumar, T., Karsan, I., Charow, R., Salhia, M., & Wiljer, D. (2023). The Adoption of AI in Mental Health Care–Perspectives From Mental Health Professionals: Qualitative Descriptive Study. JMIR Formative Research, 7. https://doi.org/10.2196/47847
Zhang, S., Batra, K., Xu, W., Liu, T., Dong, R., Yin, A., Delios, A., Chen, B., Chen, R., Miller, S., Wan, X., Ye, W., & Chen, J. (2022). Mental disorder symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic in Latin America – a systematic review and meta-analysis. Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences, 31. https://doi.org/10.1017/s2045796021000767
Zhong W., Luo J., Zhang H. (2024). The therapeutic effectiveness of AI-based chatbots in alleviation of depressive and anxiety symptoms: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Affective Disorders. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2024.04.057
