This Realm IQ Sessions episode features Chris Li, a serial entrepreneur and educator, discussing mental health innovation for Gen Z. As the co-founder of Say!t Mental Health, Chris shares his journey from teaching at UCLA and managing billion-dollar portfolios to launching a nonprofit that fuses peer-led campus clubs with a gamified emotional check-in app.
Chris and host Curt Doty explore the role of ChatGPT in mental health, the emotional intelligence gap in AI, and how data from real human experiences—collected ethically—could be used to train AI with empathy and soul. The conversation also critiques traditional university mental health services and addresses the alarming rise in depression and suicide among youth aged 10–24. Say It’s mission is not only to provide access but to train AI to understand human emotion by prioritizing trust, transparency, and Gen Z leadership.
Topics Discussed
- Why Gen Z uses ChatGPT for emotional support
- Emotional Intelligence (EQ) vs IQ in the age of AI
- The dangers and limitations of AI as a mental health tool
- Peer-led mental health support vs traditional therapy
- Gen Z’s achievement pressure and emotional struggles
- Ethical and transparent data sharing for AI training
- Training LLMs to be emotionally intelligent (Theory of Mind)
- Opt-in privacy practices modeled after GDPR
- The role of Gen Z in shaping emotionally aware AI
- Challenges in mental health funding and access
- Critique of current mental health infrastructure on campuses
- Big Tech’s failure to build emotionally resonant AI
Quotes
“ChatGPT is a smart parrot. It has no EQ.”
— Chris Li
“The success of any technology is trust. It’s the only thing that matters when you're dealing with Gen Z.”
— Chris Li
“They don’t need another lecture. They need a safe place to be real.”
— Chris Li on peer-led clubs
“We’re not building an LLM. We’re building trust.”
— Chris Li
“Gen Z is the AI generation. It’s their responsibility to train it with empathy.”
— Chris Li
“The problem isn’t access. It’s that the services don’t speak Gen Z’s language.”
— Chris Li
“AI needs soul. And soul comes from real human data—not performative social media.”
— Curt Doty
“At age 15, kids are having panic attacks. That’s just not right.”
— Chris Li
“Let’s go beyond what’s legal and do what’s right.”
— Chris Li on data privacy
“We modeled our opt-in system after GDPR and Apple’s transparency. No hidden third parties.”
— Chris Li
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