What is the true heart of mental healthcare -- innovation or humanity? Can virtual therapy ever replicate the profound human bonds where healing arises? As artificial intelligence and immersive technologies promise expanded access, safeguards must ensure technologies remain supplementary tools guided by providers' wisdom. Implementation requires nuance balancing efficiency and empathy. If conscious of ethical risks, perhaps AI could restore humanity by automating tasks, giving providers more time to listen. Yet no algorithm can replicate the seat of dignity within. We must ask ourselves: What future has people at its core? One where AI thoughtfully plays a collaborative role? Or where pursuit of progress leaves vulnerability behind? This commentary argues for a balanced approach thoughtfully integrating technology while retaining care's irreplaceable human essence, at the heart of this profoundly human profession. Ultimately, by nurturing innovation and humanity together, perhaps we reach new heights of empathy previously unimaginable.

Advisors are using artificial intelligence to expand access to wealth management insights. Traditional financial plans often required multiple meetings between advisors and clients with frameworks left to stagnate outside the meetings, but the inclusion of AI has allowed that conversation to become continuous, Sam Palmer, managing director and head of strategy, digital wealth planning & advice for JPMorgan Wealth Management, said during a panel discussion at Financial Planning's INVEST conference in June. "What has started with clients having to interact with an advisor, even to be able to trade stocks moving over through access to digital tools and automation, is [now] more tools in the hands of consumers for financial planning and financial health," Palmer said. "We are able now to have continuous monitoring as an individual [and] as a consumer of my cash flow." This eliminates the need for simple one-off conversations with an advisor.

Traditionally, African lenders use credit bureau scores, assessing, for instance, if a customer has a history of missed credit card payments. When no history exists, they evaluate social demographics: is the customer female – in which case they are likelier to repay – do they work in a stable job market and can they prove a regular income? But this can put those who are unbanked or informally employed at a disadvantage. Michele Tucci, chief product officer at fintech company Credolab said: "African lenders lack data to make good credit decisions and social demographic data can bring you only so far." He estimates that African lenders cannot obtain credit bureau scores for 70% of customers and simply reject them.

The Biden administration launched a new task force June 10 that will work across healthcare, technology and other sectors to make government data more available to artificial intelligence researchers, according to The Wall Street Journal. The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and the National Science Foundation will lead the task force, dubbed the National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource Task Force. The group comprises 12 members from academia, government and industry organizations. The task force will develop a strategy for creating an AI research resource that could give researchers secure access to anonymous data about Americans, from demographics to health habits. Medical data could also be made available for research by both private and academic institutions, officials said.

High school students across the state of Texas have a new resource to guide them through the college application process, thanks to a public-private partnership announced today by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB). The new initiative will tap AdmitHub's pioneering technology to enable students to access ADVi, a conversational artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot that offers proactive, personalized guidance to help students navigate their way to and through college. ADVi can communicate with students 24/7 via text message, and if students need additional support, directs them to a cohort of live advisers who are trained and funded through a partnership with the College Advising Corps. Texas students may access ADVi by texting "COLLEGE" to 512-829-3687 or starting a freshman application in ApplyTexas. The THECB launched the text messaging tool this month to 60,000 high school seniors who opted into receiving messages in their ApplyTexas applications.

Fear, uncertainty and doubt are tainting the banking industry's views of artificial intelligence. There's so much noise about AI, it's reminiscent of irrational fears about electricity or even the microwave -- it's going to take away our jobs, is more dangerous than nuclear weapons and will have a negative impact on our cities. From my perspective, it's important to be cautious when we evaluate new technologies, but I'm an optimist at heart. I believe in the power of technology to create value and transform lives. The individuals who are responsible for AI have the capacity to create guardrails and ensure that these new approaches to data science do not have a negative impact.